Counterbalanced
by PokeNOM NOM NOM
Summary: Things are different than as they appear... When Yena decides to help out the unruly thief Alex, they end up in a thrilling adventure. Can she see through his web of lies and secrets, and find her own way into the world of Pokémon? An Unovan tale that is sure to surprise you! Now up: Chapter 27 - You did NOT see this coming.
1. Counterbalanced: 1

**Chapter 1 - Counterbalanced**

Yena laughed as her Oshawott sprinted across the room, leaped on her desk and managed to catch the treat before it hit the wall.  
She clapped in her hands as she crossed the room, and scratched the top of Oshawott's head.

"You're getting better at this. Want an even trickier toss this time?"

Oshawott grinned, and nodded happily.

Yena turned around and leaned against her desk, getting another delicious Pokémon treat from her pocket.  
She threw it across the room, her water Pokémon jumping after it with great enthusiasm.

She smiled, but didn't get to see the end of Oshawott's chase, as she was distracted by a slight movement outside.  
Yena moved closer to the window, studying the person that was hanging around Professor Juniper's laboratory on the other side of Nuvema Town. The young man seemed to currently be peeking through one of the windows, while slowly walking by. Apparently not satisfied with the result, he turned around, walking by again, then turning a corner, disappearing out of sight as he stepped behind the laboratory.

This had been the third time she had spotted him on the edge of town.  
Pondering on her observations, Yena turned around, finding Oshawott standing in front of her, nibbling on the treat he caught.  
She reached down and patted him on the head.

"You did good, Oshawott. Hmm… You know what? Let's go out for a bit."

As she walked down the stairs, Yena called out:

"Mom? Do you mind if I bring home a guest for dinner this evening?"

As Yena peeked into the living room, she was met by her mother's questioning look.

"Sure, dear. Who will that be?"

Yena shrugged.

"I don't know his name yet, mom. I just have a hunch that he'll be hungry."

She walked up to her mom, and kissed her on the forehead.

"I think I'll be leaving for my Pokémon journey soon, too."

Yena's mother sighed, grabbing her daughter's shoulders while looking her in the eyes.

"Be careful, Yena. I trust you to do what's right, but your sense of adventure is overwhelming."

Yena smiled, placing her hands on her mother's shoulders.

"It'll be alright. Besides, I still have Oshawott to protect me."

The otter-like Pokémon looked up from Yena's feet, nodding with great determination.

...

Alex allowed himself a little sigh of relief as he watched the professor's assistants leave the laboratory.  
They would not notice him, carefully concealed behind the trees and bushes that almost completely surrounded Professor Juniper's lab.  
He heard their animated chatter disappearing as they entered one of the houses nearby.

Slowly, he left the safety of the trees, and approached the laboratory.  
He would walk by once, glare through the window's glass to see if there were any assistants left in there.  
If not, tonight could be the night.

As he casually strolled by, Alex tried to look through the laboratory's windows as inconspicuous as possible.  
He immediately caught a glimpse of movement from inside. One of the assistants was still working.

Alex turned around, making his way back to his hiding place.  
He'd have to wait until even this over-achiever went home.

Silently cursing to himself, he turned the corner around the laboratory.

However, his mood lifted immediately as he heard a Pokémon calling out to him at the next corner, leading to the back of the lab.  
A small brown and white Pokémon appeared, and Alex sped up his pace to meet the raccoon-like Pokémon.  
His Zigzagoon happily approached him, rubbing his head against his owner's legs and then running back to the where he had come from, clearly enthusiastic about something.

They were now at the back of the building.  
There was no backdoor, but there were some small windows, probably leading into the toilets.

"Did you find something?"

Alex whispered as Zigzagoon came to a halt.

Zigzagoon nodded wildly, and pushed his nose against one of the small windows.  
Alex gave a little gasp of delight as the window opened a bit.

"That's great, Zigzagoon!"

Eyeing the small window, he continued:

"I can't squeeze through there, though. I'd get stuck in a heartbeat."

He scratched Zigzagoon's bristly fur. "But I think you could probably do it!"

The Pokémon looked up to him, and grinned.  
Then he proceeded to push his nose against the window, to open it up even further.

"Hold on, Zigzagoon. If you're going to do this, you'll have to be really quiet, you hear me?  
One of the assistants is still at work in the front of the laboratory. And I described it to you many times, right?  
You know what to look for."

Zigzagoon, hardly able to contain it's enthusiasm, nodded frantically again.  
Alex grinned at his Pokémon.

"Okay then, this is it. It's really important we get this right, so give it your best. Now go!"

Zigzagoon nodded one last time, and wiggled through the small window, landing on the floor on the other side with a small thump.  
Alex could hear the small Pokémon moving away from the window.  
Wanting to follow Zigzagoon's movements as best he could, Alex leaned closer to the half-open window, completely focused on what was going on inside.

His heart seemed to stand still as he suddenly heard a voice from right behind him:

"Can I help you with anything?"

...

Yena discovered the young man crouching near an open window at the back of the laboratory.  
He was doing his best to peer inside, and was so caught up with his activity that he didn't hear her approach.  
Yena took a moment to take a closer look at him.

His brown hair was messily cut, as if a small child had given him a haircut.

He was wearing a long, sleeveless grey shirt, that was hanging loose on his white shoulders.  
His wide pants seemed to be three sizes too big for him, and probably used to be a good shade of brown, now looking quite pale and full of grass stains.

Yena took a deep breath, and asked with a clear voice:

"Can I help you with anything?"

She had expected him to be a bit startled, but could never have foreseen his response to her presence.  
He immediately jumped up as if he'd been stung by a bug-Pokémon, and as his dark, wide eyes found her, a furious expression formed on his face.  
His mouth opened to reveal a long line of quite creative swear words, clearly stating what he thought of the fact that she had snuck up to him. His voice was raw, not matching his slim figure.

Yena quickly recovered from her surprise, folded her arms and waited.  
As the young man noticed she was not going to run away crying at the first sign of strong words, the waterfall of swear words subsided, and eventually he went quiet, but his hands were still clenched into fists, as if he was ready to punch her in the face if she decided to attack him.

There was a moment of awkward silence.  
Yena unfolded her arms, lowering them.  
She smiled at him, hoping to make him feel more at ease.

"My apologies. I seem to have startled you, and I didn't mean to."

His dark eyes narrowed, and his hoarse voice sounded sceptic.

"Tell me what you want already."

Ignoring his rude tone of voice, that was clearly meant to pick a fight, Yena continued to give him assuring looks and made her own body language the least threatening she could.

"I was just wondering if you could use some help."

Encouraged by the surprised look on his face, she continued:

"I've seen you around here a couple of times now, but you don't seem to have any relatives in Nuvema Town you can stay with.  
Do you have enough supplies? Where do you sleep?"

He slowly closed his eyes, as if to get himself together.  
When he opened them, his mouth formed into a sarcastic grin.

"Oh, so you're a charity, eh? You came all this way to feed helpless ol' me? Well, good for you. But I don't need any help.  
Go and help some other poor soul. I'm sure your help will be more appreciated elsewhere. Besides, I'll be out of here by tomorrow.  
Now go away, shoo."

To enforce his words, he stepped forward, as to manipulate her into leaving.  
Yena, however, didn't move an inch.  
As the young man came closer, she took the opportunity of putting her hand on his shoulder.

"You feel like you could use a good meal. When's the last time you had a full plate of warm food?"

He jumped backwards, shaking her off as if Yena's hand was scorching his skin.

"Don't you touch me!"

"I-... I'm sorry. I meant no harm."

More shocked by this than by his behavior earlier, Yena closed her eyes, expecting him to have run away by the time she opened them again.  
But when she did, he was still standing there, more upright than before.

There was something else on his face this time. She had said something that had attracted his attention.  
As she observed him, he spoke up.

"I think you owe me a warm meal now."

Her smile returned as she recognised the look on his face – he was hungry.

"I think so too. Let's go, my mom makes the best food in town."

The young man glanced at the open window once more as he hesitantly followed her around the laboratory, into Nuvema Town.  
When he noticed Yena watching him, he snorted and shook his head.

"People shouldn't leave windows open like that. You never know what might sneak in."

"Good thing it's such a small window, then."

He slowly nodded.

They awkwardly walked next to eachother, her way of walking much more relaxed than his.  
Yena cast a look on his face.

"My name is Yena. What's yours?"

He returned her look, as if considering to ignore her question.

After a pause, he replied:

"I'm Alex."


	2. Counterbalanced: 2

**Chapter 2 - Counterbalanced**

This had been a bad idea. Alex glanced around as they approached Yena's house.

Maybe if he ran for the trees now, he'd get away?  
He probably could, he was fast enough, but the hollow feeling in his stomach and the thought of a good meal stopped him.

He wasn't too worried about Zigzagoon.  
His Pokémon would return to their hiding spot in the woods, and find enough berries to feed himself.  
He just hoped Zigzagoon would find it's way out of the laboratory safely.

Yena turned around to him as they reached the front door of her house.

She stated:

"This is where I live."

Alex suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, or saying something along the lines of 'good for you'.  
He simply shrugged lightly, putting his hands in his pockets.

Yena gave him one of her smiles, which he couldn't understand.  
He had been nothing but rude to this girl, so when was she going to be offended and send him away?  
But the warm look in her blue eyes seemed to be genuine. Her golden hair, that reached just beyond her shoulders, and perfectly smooth and shiny, seemed to be the opposite of his' own short, messy hair. Her good looks disgusted him, he didn't like handsome people much.

He thought of leaving once more, but Yena had just opened the door, and a wave of delicious smells withheld him from turning around.

"Let's go inside, Alex. The sun will set soon."

She stepped through the door, leading the way.

...

Yena found her mother in the kitchen, cutting vegetables while keeping an eye on the pans on the stove.  
As she heard the two approach, the woman turned around.

"Hello, dear."

She quickly kissed Yena on the forehead, and then turned to Alex, who was still standing near the door, his hands in his pockets and his skinny shoulders pulled up.

Yena made the introductions.

"Mom, this is Alex. He'd like to join us for dinner. Alex, this is my mother."

Noting his uneasiness, Yena's mother made no attempts to shake his hand. She simply waved at him shortly.  
He replied her gesture by giving her a quick nod.

"Nice to meet you, young man. You do look like you could use something to eat.  
If you could just wait another fifteen minutes, I'll have dinner on the table."

"No worries, mom. We'll just be in the living room, okay? Let's go, Alex."

...

Alex hesitantly sat down on the far side of the couch, restlessly moving his fingers along the soft fabric.  
He looked around the room – cheerful family pictures on the wall of Yena and her parents, a fireplace, several chairs with colors matching the couch and a television built into a giant bookcase. There was a radio on the other side of the couch, and a soft red and orange carpet on the floor. He felt very much out of place.

Yena sank down on the couch as well, and Alex was thankful for the space she left between them.  
She showed him the television's remote control.

"Feel like watching some tv?"

Alex shrugged, which she apparently took as his silent way to say 'yes', because she pointed the thing at the television, and a program about Pokémon living in the desert appeared on the screen.  
Yena sniffed, showing her dislike for the program, and changed channels. A music program this time.  
Alex felt chills running down his spine as he watched one of the singers perform on a big stage.  
He glanced over at Yena, hoping she'd change the channel again.

She didn't look like she was about to, so he reluctantly asked her:

"Anything else on? I really don't like music."

She smiled, and nodded, as if she was happy about learning something new about him.  
They soon settled on a program on Pokémon coordinators, that showed reruns of the most exciting Pokémon Contests.

The program just started to captivate Alex, when he heard Yena ask:

"Do you have a Pokémon, Alex?"

He slowly glanced over to the girl beside him. Trick question or plain interest?  
Why hadn't he seen this question coming?

"...Do you?"

He asked without blinking.  
She nodded, and showed him the Pokéball that was attached to her belt.

"I have an Oshawott. Do you want to meet him?"

Before he could say 'no', she had the Pokéball in her hand and pointed it at the floor.  
In a flash of red, the blue water-Pokémon appeared on the carpet.

"Osha!"

He climbed on the couch, sitting between his owner and Alex, studying the newcomer with big, curious eyes.  
Alex pulled up one eyebrow, and figured that most people would consider this Pokémon to be cute.  
He noticed Yena was watching him as well.

"Ehm. Yes. That's an Oshawott."

"So what Pokémon do you have?"

Alex scratched his neck.

"My Pokémon..."

He was saved by a man's voice in the kitchen, distracting Yena.

"Oh! That's my father coming home! Let's go and say hello, okay?"

Anything better than answering difficult questions. After Yena had called back her Oshawott to it's Pokéball, Alex followed her through the livingroom door into the kitchen, to immediately be greeted by a lively man with blond, short hair. Alex froze as Yena's father grabbed his hand, shaking it with great enthusiasm. As he managed to pull himself from his tight grip, Alex noticed the man's attire.

Yena's father was wearing a lab coat.  
Alex opened his mouth, then closed it, not knowing what to say.

"You must be Alex. Nice to meet you, my wife told me you were staying over for dinner."

Alex nodded, still eyeing the man with great suspicion.  
This man worked at Professor Juniper's laboratory. Was this some kind of trap?

Yena's mother jokingly shoved her husband through the living room door.

"Why don't you go and get changed, dear? I'm putting the food on the plates in a minute."

She then gestured at Alex.

"You have a seat over there now, Alex."

...

The meal consisted of mashed potatoes, carrots and sweet corn.  
There was some fish on the side as well, but Alex couldn't tell if it was Magikarp or Goldeen they were having.  
The smell of food was overwhelming. The meal had started when Yena's father finally joined them at the table.

Trying to eat as slow as possible, but hardly able to contain himself, Alex tried out the cooked vegetables.  
They were delicious, even though anything warm would've tasted lovely anyway.

"Want to hear something exciting, something that happened to me at work today?"

Yena's father asked in general. When Yena and her mother urged him on, he continued:

"Something got stolen just now. Not by a person, but by a Pokémon! I saw it all happen."

The mashed potatoes suddenly tasted like mud to Alex, and his throat went dry.

While reaching for his glass of water, he croaked:

"What happened?"

Yena's father sat back, wanting to take his time telling the story.

"I was working late in the lab, when I heard something going on at the back of the lab. When I went to look, I was nearly tackled by a Pokémon running by!  
It ran into the front door, knocking it open with his head, and ran for the woods.  
When I did a quick inventory check, I noticed that a Pokédex was missing. It must've been in his mouth as he ran past me."

He laughed.

"Now what would a Pokémon want with a Pokédex? I can't figure it out. But I did call the police, just in case.  
They said they'll be here first thing in the morning."

He sighed.

"These things only seem to happen when the professor's out of town."

Yena's mother reached over and patted her husband on the arm, saying it would be alright.  
Alex could see Yena staring at him from the corner of his eyes, and he suddenly had trouble breathing.

"Weren't you two outside just now? With nothing else ever happening in town, you could've had some kind of adventure as witnesses of a crime.  
Did you see anything suspicious?"

Yena's mother was now looking at them, and Alex slowly took another sip of water.  
This was the moment where Yena would tell them she found him near an open window behind the laboratory, he was sure of it.  
He anxiously awaited her reply.

After a short moment of silence, Yena laughed.

"I wish! The last exciting thing that happened here must've been a hundred years ago, and now we missed it.  
I'm lucky Professor Juniper already gave me my Pokédex before she left for her trip.  
And a good thing I'm leaving tomorrow to make my own adventure, right?"

She looked at Alex, who returned her look wide-eyed.

"And did I tell you that Alex and I will be travelling together for a while? At least until I get used to being on the road.  
He promised to show me around, since he's such an experienced traveller. Right, Alex?"

Her eyes widened for a moment, urging him to reply. The look in her eyes was unmistakable.  
Agree with it, or she would be sharing the suspicious circumcumstances in which they had met with their parents.  
Alex swallowed with some difficulty, then nodded.

"Right."

Yena's mother clapped in her hands with delight.

"That's great, Alex! It's good to have someone look after my daughter, at least until she catches more Pokémon, and gets stronger.  
Oh, this calls for some celebrating. Let me get some icecream for dessert."

As his wife was going rummaging through the freezer at the other side of the room, Yena's father looked at his dinner guest.

"Where will you stay tonight, Alex? There's no Pokémon Center in Nuvema Town to stay in. Do you have any relatives here?"

He had to get out of here. Fast.  
Alex was feeling like a trapped animal.

"I'm camping just out of town. The nights aren't cold at all.  
I should probably go back there soon, to check on my things there, if there's some thieving Pokémon active around here."

He flinched as Yena's knee knocked against his. She was still looking at him intently.

"I don't think it's a good idea to go out right now, it's dark outside already.  
We have a spare bedroom, why don't you just spend the night here?  
We'll have time to discuss our upcoming journey, and we'll go to check on your things first thing in the morning as we leave.  
I doubt if one Pokémon would take something as big as a tent."

That little, manipulating...! Alex couldn't even find a suitable swear word, and felt increasingly powerless.  
The food was lying in his stomach like a stone. He clenched his fists under the table, trying to hide his frustration.  
He managed to squeeze out a couple of words.

"Sure, that sounds good."

He couldn't think of anything that would be more of a lie.

...

The icecream would've tasted delicious at any other moment.  
But on that moment, dinner seemed to last forever and the icecream seemed to taste vile.  
Alex, feeling slightly nauseous, felt ever so relieved as Yena announced she would now show him the spare bedroom.

As she led him up the stairs, Alex felt his anger building again.  
He couldn't wait to tell this girl his thoughts on the whole situation.

As they entered the spare bedroom, and the door closed behind him, Alex was seething with anger.  
He was ready to punch Yena in the face, but stopped in his tracks as she sent out her Oshawott.  
The water-Pokémon took its place between the two of them, ready to defend its owner.  
The otter-like creature probably had some sharp teeth, too.

"You...!"

A violent stream of curse words escaped from his mouth, as to replace the physical attack he had planned before.  
She waited patiently, her hands on her hips.

He calmed down a little, starting to ask questions instead.

"Do you think you can manipulate me? Why would you even do that?  
Why would you ever want to travel with me, if you know that the Pokémon that stole that Pokédex is mine?"

Her calm smile frustrated him to no end.

"Alex, I think us working together could be good for us both.  
I had no time to talk to you about it before dinner, but I really want you to be my guide for a while."

Alex sighed audibly.

"Ugh. But why? I'm no good as a guide, I promise. I'm not a good travelling companion either.  
I haven't been nice to you for even one second, you know that I send my Pokémon out to steal things, and you still trust me to be your travelling buddy?  
You make no sense. Name one thing that you see in me, that made you decide to pull me into your evil little scheme. One thing."

Again with the smiling. Did this girl ever frown?

"I could name more than one thing, if you'd want me too. I'm quite good at reading people, you know, even in such a short time.  
I can see you care about your Pokémon. You're a brave person, very determined once you set your mind on something, and you know how things go in other parts of Unova. You're good at surviving without money in your pockets, so you must be clever as well. Want me to go on?"

Alex didn't know what to do anymore.

"I'm really much happier on my own."

Yena studied his face.

"Are you sure? To me, you look like you could use a friend."

"I have my Pokémon."

"A human friend. I don't know what happened to you, to make you resist all friendly things that come your way, but I can be a good listener."

Alex folded his arms tightly across his chest.

"Yeah, well, I'm not a good talker."

His raw voice was strained.

"Please? I've never been any further into Unova than Accumula Town. Will you at least accompany me to Striaton City?  
What if I promise to cook a good meal for us every evening?"

Now it was Alex' turn to study her face.

"Why didn't you just ask me when we first saw eachother?"

"You would've said 'no' for sure. But something about you attracted my attention, I'm sure I can help you with your problem, as well, if you'll just tell me what it is."

Alex snorted.

"Pft. There's no way you can help me."

Yena shrugged.

"Okay, you don't have to share it with me."

She stretched out her arm, holding out her hand to Alex.

"So we have a deal? At least until we reach Striaton City?"

He slapped her hand away.

"Tsk. Fine. Don't expect me to become a cheerful companion, though.  
We're not friends, and the food you make better be good."

He was unwillingly rewarded with a beaming smile.

"Fantastic! I'll give it my best. Then I wish you a good night, I'll leave you for now."

She stepped past him, opening the door.  
Before she closed it, she turned around once more.

"Oh, just so you know... My father keeps the windows and doors of the house locked at night, and we have a pretty advanced alarm system set up."

So there was no way to escape.  
Alex rolled with his eyes.

"Good for him."

"Good night!"

"...Whatever you say."


	3. Counterbalanced: 3

**Chapter 3 - Counterbalanced**

Alex woke up from his restless slumbers by Yena's mother knocking on the door.  
Disoriented, he looked around, immediately missing Zigzagoon's comforting presence.  
Then the whole situation came back to him, and with that his bad mood returned as well.

He sighed, and then realised Yena's mother was talking to him from the other side of the door.

"…and Yena has started packing all her things, she would like some advice on the supplies you two should bring."

She paused.

"Alex? Are you awake?"

He scraped his throat, that felt dry.

"Yes, I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay, dear. I have some breakfast downstairs, if you're hungry."

Alex scrambled around to find the sneakers he had wildly kicked out the day before.  
While putting them on, his thoughts wandered off to his Zigzagoon.  
His Pokémon had done it, had successfully found him a Pokédex!  
Alex smiled at the thought, a rare expression for him nowadays.  
A Pokédex would mean his long-awaited fresh start.

...

Yena looked up to him as Alex appeared in the doorway to her room.  
She was sitting on the floor, completely surrounded by potions, both human and Pokémon snacks, dried berries, ropes, and heaps of clothing. She beckoned him closer, looking slightly desperate.

"Alex, come here and help me sort this out, please. All these things will never fit in my backpack."

Refusing to come much closer, Alex sat down on the floor near the door, leaning against the wall.  
He sighed. Seemed like he had to start playing the role of experienced guide already.  
He loosely pointed at the pile of clothes.

"Choose two outfits, leave the rest."

His gaze went over the rest of the supplies.

"Don't bring too much Pokémon snacks or berries, we don't need them."

He shrugged.

"Is that good enough as advice, your majesty?  
I'd rather go and get some breakfast now."

Yena grinned.

"Yes, thank you, my loyal servant. I'll just finish packing this.  
I'll be downstairs in a minute."

Alex rolled with his eyes.

"Let's not joke around too much. People might start to think we get along."

"Oh goodness, no. We wouldn't want that."

...

"Yena, this is our last meal together before you leave.  
Your mother and I thought this would be an excellent moment to give you this, as a present."

As Yena's father handed his delighted daughter the large package, beautifully decorated with yellow and red ribbons, Alex shifted on his chair uncomfortably.  
He felt out of place among this balanced and happy family. He focused on the scrambled eggs on his plate instead.

Yena exulted as the present turned out to be a brand-new portable stove, a little pan included.

"Oh, this is great! I thought I'd have to cook above a campfire, but this is even better!"

She reached over the table, pulling her parents into a hug with both arms.

"Thanks, mom and dad. And don't worry about me. Oshawott and Alex will watch over me.  
Plus, I'll definitely stay in touch, I'll call you from every Pokécenter I visit."

Alex was staring at his now empty plate intently as Yena's mother called his name.  
When he looked up, she spoke:

"Alex, thanks again for looking after Yena. To show our appreciation, we want you to have these."

Speechless, he looked inside the small gift bag she gave him.  
There were five Pokéballs on the bottom.  
He looked up at the people around him, not knowing what to say.

Yena's mother gave him a gentle smile.

"I'm sure you'll be able to catch some Pokémon with those, Alex."

Alex coughed, moved by the unexpected gift.

"Ehm… Wow. That's really good."

Yena kicked him under the table.

"Say 'thank you' already, Alex!"

After throwing a furious glance at Yena, his leg throbbing painfully, he nodded at her parents.

"…Thanks."

"Oh, you're welcome, honey. I know Yena can be a handful sometimes, but she's a reliable person as well. You can trust her."

She went through Yena's blond hair with her hand.

"You guys should look after eachother."

Yena gave her mother a shaky smile, both quite emotional.

"Mom, we can't burst into tears now, imagine how silly we'd look."

Yena's mother wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and sniffed once.

"You're right, dear. You two should leave soon, before I change my mind and keep you here."

...

"You know those stylish white pants will not be stylish and white for long, right?"

They had finally left Nuvema Town, after a long series of tears, hugs and kisses between Yena and her parents.  
Now, with her hometown no longer in sight, Yena's mood had been extremely excitable.  
After his comment on her pants, she studied them, and shrugged.

"Why not? Look."

She gestured at the perfectly straight road ahead.

"No obstacles in sight. How could they get dirty?"

Alex' sarcastic grin was his reply.

"Oh, I see. You thought travelling with me was going to be easy. I have some bad news for you, then.  
You must understand that my belongings are still out there."

He pointed east through the dense trees.

"I also plan on going to Accumula Town by travelling off-road. And I don't know about you, but I don't feel like being stopped to be questioned by police investigating the disappearance of a Pokédex. Your clothes will be green, muddy and torn like mine in no time at all."

Her hesitation didn't last too long. Her blue eyes peered through the trees.

"I made the choice to travel with you, Alex. Let's go, lead me to your camp."

Alex snorted at the word 'camp'.

"You think too highly of me, Yena."

Yet he stepped off the road, carefully finding his way through the tightly packed trees.  
Yena could hear his raw voice as she followed him:

"Watch out for the wild Pokémon, they're quite vicious here."

She giggled nervously, not sure if he was joking or not, and made sure she had Oshawott's Pokéball within her reach.  
Soon, she found out that keeping an eye on Alex and placing her feet right was a difficult task.  
And after a while, Alex had moved away from her quite a bit.

"Alex, could you slow down a li-…"

She was interrupted by a series of three short, sharp whistles.  
As Yena's eyes focused on Alex, she saw he was the source of the sound.  
Standing still, he brought two fingers to his mouth again, inhaled sharply and produced another series of loud whistles.  
He lowered his arm, looking around through the trees, as if he was waiting for something.

Yena approached him, also looking around, but not knowing what to look for.

"What are you looki-… Ah!"

Gasping as she was interrupted yet again, Yena nearly tripped when a Pokémon jumped by with big leaps.  
The Pokémon barked enthusiastically, rubbing his head against Alex' legs before sitting down in front of its owner, looking up to him with a grin.

A true transformation had taken place on Alex' face.

Had his face been cold at first, sarcastic at best, it now smiled down on his trusted friend.  
The lines near his eyebrows that appeared when he frowned had disappeared, making his face look softer.  
He crouched down, tickling the brown and white coat, causing the Pokémon to wiggle and shake with breathless laughter.

Yena looked at the two with a smile, and hardly dared to breath, afraid to disturb the happy reuniting between trainer and Pokémon.  
Unfortunately, Alex seemed to suddenly remember her.

As he looked up to her, Yena slowly approached him, also crouching down to admire his Pokémon. She smiled gently.

"I didn't know you had a Zigzagoon, Alex. I've seen them on tv, once... He's really cute."

She held out her hand to Zigzagoon, giving him the opportunity to get used to her scent.  
Curiously, Zigzagoon sniffed her hand, then looked back at Alex.  
His owner sighed for a moment.

"Be nice, Zigzagoon. We can't travel fast if Yena gets her hand chewed off.  
She'd probably cry the whole way to Accumula Town, and attract a lot of attention."

Yena chuckled as Zigzagoon blinked his eyes, turned his head back at Yena's hand, giving it a small lick instead.  
He then proceeded to sniff her whole arm, quickly ending up investigating her backpack.

"Oh, now you've done it. You went against my advice and brought Pokémon treats, didn't you?"

Alex straightened his knees and back, looking amused as Zigzagoon tried to open the zipper on Yena's backpack with its teeth.

"You might as well give some to him now, or he'll be travelling on your back ruining your sparkly new bag with his teeth, I can guarantee you that."

Yena laughed.

"Alright, alright. Let go of my bag, Zigzagoon, and I'll get you some treats."

As she fed Zigzagoon one treat at a time, she managed to scratch him behind it's spiky ears, drawing him closer until she could pet his whole back.

"Does Zigzagoon play well with other Pokémon?"

She asked Alex, who was following her interacting with his Pokémon with suspicious eyes. He shrugged.

"How would I know? I don't have any other Pokémon.  
…You're going to show off that Oshawott again, aren't you?"

Ignoring his words, Yena showed Zigzagoon Oshawott's Pokéball.

"Do you want to meet a new friend, Zigzagoon?"

She asked him, while offering another treat.

Eyeing the Pokéball for a second, Zigzagoon nodded, before carefully taking the treat from between her fingers.  
He stepped back for a moment as Oshawott appeared next to him in a flash of red light.  
The water-Pokémon immediately waved at Zigzagoon.

"Osha! Oshawott!"

Zigzagoon tilted his head, then replied with a series of short barks.  
The two Pokémon seemed to get along, so Yena stood up, watching them with Alex.

"So are we getting close to your camp, Alex? I don't see a tent here anywhere."

As Zigzagoon jumped around playfully near their feet, chased by Oshawott, Alex smirked.

"Oh, very close. In fact, you're standing in the camp right now. My bag is up there."

He pointed above his head, where Yena could see a ragged black bag hanging from a branch, out of any wild Pokémon's reach.

"And a tent, you say? Wow, that would be an incredible luxury, now wouldn't it?"

Yena blinked with her eyes.

"But where have you slept all this time?"

"Grass and moss can be quite comfortable. I stay at Pokécenters sometimes, as well, if Nurse Joy will let me.  
That will all be easier, now that I have my own Pokédex. That reminds me. Zigzagoon!"

The Pokémon's response was instant, immediately sitting down at Alex' feet and looking up to him.

"Did you get the Pokédex?"

Zigzagoon nodded happily.

"Well done. You hid it somewhere, didn't you? Go get it!"

Zigzagoon jumped away lightly, zigzagging around the trees on his path.  
Yena carefully sat down on the roots of a big tree, Oshawott on her lap.

"You stole a Pokédex just so you could stay in Pokécenters?  
You could've just applied for one at the lab."

Alex cast her a furious look.

"Not an option. I needed this Pokédex to make my new identity official."

"…Your new identity?"

"Well, yes. You thought I lived like this because I like it? You must be even dumber than I thought.  
My parents didn't give me this name when I was born, either."

"Ah. So what's your real name?"

"Like I'm going to tell you. A Pokédex is a valid way to identify yourself, and that's what I need.  
I'll be able to enter contests, challenge gym leaders, but also normal things such as getting a job or buying a house when I have enough money are now in my line of possibilities. Finally."

The sound of paws on the ground announced Zigzagoon's arrival.  
The raccoon-like Pokémon sat back down at Alex' feet, dropping the Pokédex on the ground, offering it to his owner.

"Zigzagoon…"

Alex picked the machine up.

"You brought me a… yellow Pokédex…?"

He studied the canary yellow thing, turning it around again and again.

"That's… really inconvenient, Zigzagoon. No one has a yellow Pokédex.  
What if the police announces that a yellow one got stolen? I'll stand out like a Wailord on dry land."

Zigzagoon seemed to shrink, pressing itself on the ground to show Alex how much he was sorry for its mistake.

"Yena, what color is your Pokédex? You said Professor Juniper had already given you one."

Yena had quietly observed him.

"It's red."

"Trade with me."

She shrugged.

"I can't."

She got out her Pokédex from her bag, clicked it open, and pressed one of the buttons.  
The metallic voice that came from it, stated:

_"This Pokédex is programmed by Professor Juniper for Pokémon Trainer Yena Zenouveau.  
The function of this Pokédex is to provide Yena with information and advice regarding Pokémon and their training."_

Alex clicked his yellow Pokédex open, copying Yena's movements.

"What does that mean…? How can I get it to say my name?"

He pressed the same button as Yena had done, which resulted in nothing but silence.  
Shaking it wildly, Alex looked ready to throw the thing away.

"Nothing's happening!"

"Calm down, Alex. Let me take a look at that."

Yena held out her hand, just in time to catch the Pokédex thrown her way.

"I might be able to figure it out, I'm quite good with computers as well."

Alex sank down against one of the tree trunks.  
He stared at her, and promised, very seriously:

"If you can fix it, I'll take you as far as Castelia City, instead of Striaton City."

"It might take me some time."

"Oh, I have plenty of that."


	4. Counterbalanced: 4

**Chapter 4 – Counterbalanced**

_The sharp smell of smoke.  
It's so dark.  
Wait.  
There's light coming from under the door._

...

The door opens.  
Fire! Fire!  
Flames coming into the room!

...

Something's moving on the other side of the flames.  
Someone is screaming!

...

Is there a way out?  
Open the window!

...

The air is so thick! Can't breathe!  
Open the window! Open the window!

...

The fire is so close now, scorching hot!  
Open the window! Open the window! Open the window!

...

Zigzagoon's loud bark disturbed Yena from her slumbers.  
She could see a small stripe of light through the trees, promising a beautiful sunrise later on.  
Rubbing her face to shake off the sleep, she looked around to find where Zigzagoon had cried out from.

She could see Zigzagoon's striped coat. The Pokémon was leaning on Alex' chest, who was turning his head around in his sleep, caught in a nightmare.  
Zigzagoon was frantically licking its owner's face, but without success: Alex struggled to free himself of the weight on his chest and mumbled something inaudible.

Yena kneeled down beside him, gasping as she felt Alex' forehead: he was glowing with fever.  
The young man's breath was ragged and panicked.

She gently shook him.

"Alex. Alex, wake up!"

She waited a moment, then gave him another shake.

With a raw scream, he opened his eyes wide up. Zigzagoon jumped off when Alex rolled away from Yena, leaping to his feet.  
Panting, he wildly turned his head, staring at the trees surrounding him.

"Alex. Calm down, it's okay. It was just a nightmare."

His dark eyes finally found her, and he breathed in deep.

"...Just a nightmare."

His voice was hardly audible.  
His gaze strayed from her face to something behind her.

"You... You made... a campfire?"

Yena blinked, and turned her head to look around.  
The fire she had made when Alex had just gone to sleep was burning steadily.

"I did. I worked on your Pokédex all day, and it was getting so co-…"

She stopped talking when she saw Alex' furious expression.  
He clenched his fists, trying to contain his anger.

"Don't just make a fire like that. Ever."

"But Alex..."

"NO!"

He stamped past her, kicking dirt over the fire.  
He wildly gestured at Zigzagoon, who was sitting down next to Yena.

"Zigzagoon! Help put it out!"

The Pokémon hopped over to the fire without hesitation, turned around and started digging, quickly burying the flames with dirt.  
Alex stepped back to watch the fire go out, breathing heavily.

After the last cinders had died down, and the last warmth of the fire was taken away by the light morning breeze, Alex looked back at Yena.  
She hadn't moved at all since he had yelled at her, and was simply staring at him.

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Alex awkwardly approached her, sitting down in front of her.  
Zigzagoon lay down next to him, placing its head on its owner's leg.

"Ehm... I may have overreacted a little."

After a moment of silence, Yena leaned forward and placed her hand on Alex' forehead again.  
Ignoring how Alex tried to back away from her hand, she said:

"That must've been one hell of a nightmare. You're not as warm as you were before."

Returning her hand to her lap, Yena studied Alex' face.

"Did you know I can't swim, Alex?"

Surprised by the sudden change of subject, Alex shook his head.

"How would I ever know such a thing?"

Yena nodded.

"You wouldn't, unless I told you. Or when I would fall in the water. I prefer the first method of letting you know."

Her blue eyes looked into his.

"Apparantely you want me to find out on my own, about you disliking fire like that. I was just trying to keep us warm, you know."

Alex backed away, getting back on his feet.

"You sound like my mom, talking like that."

He felt his own forehead.

"I'm fine. I always cool right back down afterwards."

Yena followed his example, standing up and shaking off the twigs and dirt off her clothes.

"I'm sorry to hear that you dream like that all the time, Alex."

"Ugh."

Alex rolled his eyes.

"See what you made me do! You've got me yapping about myself. Don't get used to it, miss.  
That'll be the last you hear about me. I'll be gone right when we get to Striaton City."

A small smile formed on Yena's face.

"Make that Castelia City. I almost forgot about it, but look what I did, before I went to sleep!"

She ran over to her backpack, getting out Alex' bright yellow Pokédex. She clicked it open, routinely pressing a button.  
The same metallic voice they had heard before from Yena's Pokédex, seemed loud as it spoke:

_"This Pokédex is programmed by Professor Juniper for Pokémon Trainer Alex Zenouveau.  
The function of this Pokédex is to provide Alex with information and advice regarding Pokémon and their training."_

Alex came closer, his eyes wide with surprise.

"You actually got it to say my name?"

He took the Pokédex from Yena's hands, looking puzzled.

"But... Zenouveau? Isn't that your last name?"

Yena's eyes twinkled as she grinned.

"Well, programming that thing isn't easy. I compared the data with my own Pokédex, and finally managed to find a way to change the first name. It was the best I could do. Looks like we'll be brother and sister from now on."

Alex closed the Pokédex, holding it close.

"I suppose I should punch you in the face for wriggling your way into my life like that."

He held out his fist, gently tapping her nose with it, causing her to giggle.

"Now that I got that out of my system...  
I guess someone to confirm my identity, like a sister, isn't so bad."

Yena gave him a warm smile.

"And I will, if you need me to."

Alex backed away.

"Don't get all cute and cuddly now. I don't think we're the kind of brother and sister that hug all the time.  
...In fact, I'm sure."

He turned around, and smoothly ran up to the tree where his bag was hanging, jumping and pulling himself up to the first branch.  
From up in the tree, he called out to Yena.

"Let's have breakfast and get out of here, sis."

She laughed.

"Sounds good, bro. The sun is rising already anyway. Anything you'd like to eat?"

Having retrieved his bag, Alex jumped lightly from the lowest branch. Crouching down to scratch Zigzagoon on its head, he stated:

"Anything that isn't cooked over an open fire will do."

...

"Do you always keep Zigzagoon outside of his Pokéball?"

They had been making their way through the dense trees without talking much, Alex in front with a confident stride, and Yena somewhat behind, still struggling to place her feet right. Zigzagoon had been running back and forth, zigzagging routinely through the trees.

Alex looked around at Zigzagoon, causing the Pokémon to immediately come to his side.

"Only outside of towns and cities. Zigzagoon isn't a very common Pokémon, so he would attract more attention than I'd like."

Yena jumped over the roots of a tree.

"If Zigzagoon isn't a common Pokémon, how did you get him?"

Alex glanced back.

"Don't feel like telling you."

He gestured at Zigzagoon, who had strayed from his side again, and was currently chasing after a small group of Lillipup.  
After he found they had fled far enough, the Pokémon turned around, happily hopping back to its owner.

"But he keeps me safe from wild Pokémon, as you can see."

Somewhat uncomfortable with the current subject, Alex slowed down a little, allowing Yena to catch up with him.

"Well? Aren't you going to tell me about your Pokémon? You were so keen on showing him off earlier.  
Did you have your first Pokémon battle with him yet?"

Yena hand went to the Pokéball on her belt.

"I haven't, actually. I practised a bit with him on his Water Gun attack, but I'm afraid he's not very strong yet.  
Won't you have a practice fight with me sometime, just to give Oshawott some experience in battling?"

"No." Alex' answer was short and simple.

"Zigzagoon would crush your precious little Pokémon."

For a while, they continued to quietly step over and on the tree roots.  
He then breathed in deep.

"What I don't understand... If you can't swim, why did you choose a water Pokémon as your first Pokémon?"

"That's some personal info you're asking about, Alex. You sure you're interested?"

Her smirk annoyed him.

"Forget I asked, I really don't care."

He sped up, creating some distance between them, closely followed by Zigzagoon.

...

It was close to noon when they arrived at Accumula Town.  
At the edge of town, Alex turned around to Zigzagoon, while reaching in his black, worn-out bag.  
He got out a slightly unusual Pokéball – this one seemed to be slightly darker than a regular, bright red balls.

Alex held it out to Zigzagoon.

"We'll see eachother again soon."

A red beam of light shot from the Pokéball, causing Zigzagoon to return to its master.  
Alex quickly returned the Pokéball to his bag, ignoring Yena's attempt to take a closer look at it.  
He glared at the girl.

"I don't plan on staying here. I don't know what you want to do here, but make it quick."

Yena shrugged.

"That's fine with me. I've been here before, so I don't feel like exploring.  
But I would like to call my parents from the Pokécenter, to let them know I got here safely."

"If you must. I'll be waiting around the edge of town. The town square is so open, I'll stand out."

Yena tugged his wide, sleeve-less shirt, noting it had some holes in it.

"We should get you some new clothes, that would solve that problem."

Alex stepped back, slapping away her hand.

"Stop that. Go call your parents already."

...

"...Bye mom, dad! I'll call you again when I get to Striaton City, okay?"

After hanging up the phone, Yena approached Nurse Joy, who was standing behind the Pokécenter's main desk.  
The pink-haired lady gently smiled at her.

"Hello! Can I help you?"

Yena smiled back.

"I was just wondering if you could give my Oshawott a bit of freshening up, we have a journey ahead of us."

Nurse Joy nodded.

"Of course. It'll take about half an hour to get your Oshawott back to his full strength."

She took Oshawott's Pokéball from Yena's hands, smiled again, then turned around to get back to her duties.  
Yena stepped back from the desk when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Hello, Yena! I see you've finally started your journey?"

Turning around, she discovered Professor Juniper, walking down the stairs leading up to the Pokécenter's top floor.  
The tall, brown-haired woman was wearing her usual lab-coat, red earrings and matching red shoes.

Yena beamed at the female professor, giving her a quick hug.  
She had known Professor Juniper since she was a toddler.

"Professor Juniper! It's so nice to see you!"

"How are you and Oshawott doing so far?"

Yena shrugged.

"Alright, I guess. Nothing much has happened since we left NuvemaTown. We haven't had our first battle yet, either."

Professor Juniper raised her eyebrows.

"Haven't had your first battle yet? Didn't you encounter any wild Pokémon on your way here?"

Yena shook her head.

"I didn't get to battle them. Zigzagoon chased them all away."

"Zigzagoon? Are you travelling with someone that has a Zigzagoon?"

Bright green eyes met her own wide blue ones.  
Her heart seemed to beat in her throat when she realised that Zigzagoon had been spotted stealing Alex' yellow Pokédex.  
She tried to keep her face straight, as she said:

"Ehm... I did... but it's just temporary, he just brought me to Accumula."

Professor Juniper's face seemed to be closer to hers now.

"And what is this person's name?"

Yena swallowed with difficulty. She couldn't lie to a family friend!

"A-... Alex."

Leaning back, as if this wasn't what she had expected, Professor Juniper leaned back, placing a hand on her hip.

"And could it be that Alex is still around?"

Praying that Alex was keeping himself hidden, Yena shrugged.

"I don't know."

Looking at Nurse Joy, working hard behind the main desk, Professor Juniper asked:

"How much longer will Oshawott take to recover energy, Yena?"

"Ehm... I guess about twenty-five more minutes."

Professor Juniper gave her a smile.

"Excellent! Then we'll be able to look for your new-found friend, right? I'd like to meet him."

Had Alex felt like this when she had manipulated him into travelling with her?  
Yena felt terrible.

"I guess we could take a look outside."

...

Alex froze up when he saw them approach.  
Yena could see his eyes going back and forth between Professor Juniper and her, and she knew he felt betrayed.  
She was almost running, trying to keep up with Professor Juniper's hasty pace.

With long strides, Professor Juniper went straight for Alex.  
Ignoring Yena's protests, the woman reached for him, grabbing Alex' arm near his shoulder.  
Pulling him towards her, she stared into the breathless youth's eyes.

If Yena had expected Alex to struggle or swear, no such thing happened.  
He fiercely stared back into the professor's eyes, but was standing perfectly still.  
Professor Juniper pulled his arm again, turning him around, studying his appearance.  
Her words completely caught Yena off-guard.

"What have you done to yourself, walking around looking like that?"

She shook Alex' arm when he looked away, making him focus on her.

"Well?"

When he refused to open his mouth, she continued, her expression softening.

"Why didn't you just come to me? You know I would do anything I could to help you."

Yena had been listening to the professor with open mouth.

"Professor Juniper? Have you and Alex met before?"

Professor Juniper glanced over at Yena.

"Yena, let me tell you a story. It's sad story, about a family, with a tragic end.  
It starts with a father, a mother and two children."

"Enough already!"

Alex had finally spoken up. After a pause, he added:

"...I don't want her to know."

Professor Juniper studied his face.

"Looks like you're really trying to shake off your past... Alex."

Alex shook his arm lightly, trying to get her to loosen her grip on him.

"I don't need your help, you know."

"And so you rely on thievery, instead of kindness."

Alex shook off the black bag that was hanging from his other shoulder.  
The bag fell on the ground with a thump. He gestured at it.

"Well. There you have it. Take back the damn thing."

Yena's voice sounded desperate as she interruped them.

"Please, professor. Let him keep his Pokédex. I think he's a great trainer.  
I don't know what happened to him, but he's really kind to his Pokémon, and Zigzagoon obeys him so well."

Professor Juniper slightly loosened her grip.

"Looks like you managed to make a friend, Alex."

She looked to Yena, then back at Alex.

"I've known Yena for a long time, and she has shown some great social skills while growing up.  
Maybe you can learn a thing or two from her."

Alex sighed and rolled his eyes, getting tired of being in this powerless position.

"...But I'll tell you what, Alex. I'll give you a chance to earn your Pokédex."

Alex' dark eyes looked up to her face.

"How?"

Professor Juniper grinned.

"Defeat me in battle."


	5. Counterbalanced: 5

**Chapter 5 - Counterbalanced**

The battle would take place in the park-like square in Accumula Town.  
As soon as Alex had taken his place at one side of the large patch of grass, Yena ran up to him and clutched his arm.

"Alex, I'm so sorry. Professor Juniper approached me in the Pokécenter, and before I knew it, she was storming outside to find you."

Alex pushed her away from his arm, but did so quite gently.

"Don't worry too much about it. There's no telling lies to Professor Juniper, she looks right through them. I swear the woman's psychic.  
Running into her is just another case of bad luck that I'll have to overcome, and I will. Now, go and stand over there, so you won't get in the way."

Looking relieved, Yena ran off to sit on one of the benches on the side.

Alex turned back at Professor Juniper, who was standing at the other side of the grass patch.

The professor was currently talking to a small crowd of people that had gathered at the first signs of a Pokémon fight.  
They seemed to have come to some kind of agreement, because Professor Juniper waved at Alex, while one of the men made his way to the side of the battlefield, close to where Yena was sitting.

"Alex! This nice man said he'll be our referee! Let's make this an exciting battle!"

Alex simply nodded, holding Zigzagoon's Pokéball in his hand, ready to begin.

The referee held up his hand to get their attention.

"This is a battle between Professor Juniper and this young lad Alex. They will each use one Pokémon.  
The battle will continue until one of the Pokémon is not able to fight anymore, or if one of the trainers gives up.  
If both of you understand this, the battle may commence."

Professor Juniper's usually cheerful face got a little more serious when she got out her own Pokéball from her lab coat.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you, Alex. Show me how much you've learned since the last time we met."

She threw the Pokéball in the air, causing it to open up, and her Pokémon to appear on the grass in a flash of light.

Yena leaned forward. "Wow, professor! Did your Mincchino evolve?"

Professor Juniper smiled.

"That's right. One of my tasks on this trip was to get a Shiny Stone, Mincchino was so eager to evolve.  
I managed to find one, so get out your Pokédex, Yena, and learn more about… Cinccino!"

A metallic voice came from Yena's red Pokédex, as it told her:

_"Cinccino's white fur feels amazing to touch. It is coated in a special oil that makes it easy for them to deflect attacks, repel dust and prevent static electricity from building up."_

The grey Pokémon was innocently studying Alex, while stroking the piece of white fluff around it's neck.  
The rest of its spotless tail was moving softly in the wind.

"She's really beautiful, professor!"

Yena couldn't stop looking at the rodent-like Pokémon.

Alex held his arm back for a moment, then tossed his own Pokéball on the grass.  
As Zigzagoon appeared, he stated:

"I'm not really impressed. That tail will just get in the way."

He snapped his fingers. "Zigzagoon!"

His Pokémon lifted its head, focusing completely on Alex.

"This is an important battle, so pay attention!"

Zigzagoon nodded with great determination, turning his head back to Cinccino.

Professor Juniper looked at the referee, and the man called out:

"Ready? …Begin!"

Professor Juniper wasted no time.

"Cinccino, start moving around as fast as you can, show us your Double Team attack!"

Cinccino lowered herself on all four legs, and started to run, increasing her speed with every leap she took.  
Noticing his own Pokémon's increasing confusion as it tried to keep an eye on Cinccino, Alex called out.

"Zigzagoon, close your eyes!"

As the raccoon-like Pokémon did so, Alex brought the thumb and index finger of his right hand to his mouth, closely watching Professor Juniper's Pokémon with his eyes. After a couple of seconds, he suddenly breathed in deep, and produced one short, sharp whistle-tone.

Yena gasped as Zigzagoon jumped forward without hesitation, faultlessly tackling its opponent, that was just passing by during its Double Team maneuver. Cinccino squealed as she rolled over the grass, but quickly got back to her feet, awaiting new orders from Professor Juniper. But before the professor could say anything, Alex had produced a new sound: a series of four short whistles, much lower than the one he did earlier.

Zigzagoon opened his eyes, running forward in a zig zag, the fangs in his lower jaw clearly visible as he opened his mouth.

"Cinccino, jump away!"

Professor Juniper's voice sounded over the square.  
Her Pokémon bounced to the left, immediately followed by Zigzagoon, directed by short whistles coming from Alex.

Yena was watching with wide eyes, trying to take it all in.  
She looked back and forth between Professor Juniper, Alex and the fighting Pokémon.

Professor Juniper seemed to be having a lot of fun – her eyes were twinkling, and hints of a smile could sometimes be seen around her mouth. The professor was doing her best to give her Cinccino commands, and keep an eye on how Alex was doing at the same time.

Alex was slightly leaning forward, his eyes were squinting, as if he were on the battlefield himself.  
He was letting Zigzagoon know what to do without using even one word, with low and high tones, short and long whistles.  
As Yena watched him, he produced a long, loud whistle that went from a high tone at the start to a low tone in the end.

"Oooh!"

Yena looked back at the fighting Pokémon when onlookers around her made surprised noises.  
She was just in time to see Zigzagoon's tail disappear underground, after he had started digging his way down.

There was a moment of silence on the battlefield.

Cinccino was standing in the middle of it, panting slightly, and looking around for a hint of Zigzagoon coming up again.  
Professor Juniper waved at Alex.

"That's a nice move, Alex! Well done!"

Alex, however, paid no attention to her enthusiasm, or anything else but his Pokémon.  
He continued to whistle a series of varied notes, and while nothing seemed to be happening above ground, Yena was sure Zigzagoon was closely following his instructions underground.

A gasp went through the crowd as the ground under Cinccino's feet began to crumble.  
Professor Juniper gaze went back to her Pokémon.

"Get out of there, Cinccino!"

Alex acted immediately after Cinccino jumped away to the right.  
Two high tones, followed by four short ones.

There! The ground burst open, but not where Cinccino had been standing before!

Zigzagoon came flying from underground, right where Cinccino was about to land, jaws wide open.  
His opponent, already on her way down to the ground, could do nothing to dodge the attack, and squealed loudly when Zigzagoon's fangs closed around her little body.

Zigzagoon let go of her when they both landed on the ground, but only for a moment.  
A whistle-command ringed clearly across the square, and the Pokémon attacked again, tackling Cinccino before she even had the time to stand up from her fall.

Professor Juniper watched her beloved Pokémon roll over the grass with disbelief.

"Cinccino, are you okay?"

Cinccino cried out to her, standing up in a wobbly manner.  
She was bleeding slightly from a wound inflicted by Zigzagoon's Bite attack.

After a moment of silence, Professor Juniper realised Zigzagoon was no longer chasing after her Pokémon.  
As she looked up, she saw Alex at the other side of the patch of grass, standing tall.

"Do you want to continue fighting, or do you want to give up now, professor?"

Professor Juniper smiled at him.

"It's nice of you to offer a way out, Alex."

"Don't think too much of it. I will win either way, and you giving up is the quickest option."

She winked at him, not believing a word he said.

"Right. Well…"

She eyed Cinccino, who was desperately trying to lick the blood off herself, and refrain from falling over at the same time.

"That was quite an impressive strategy you thought out, and well-executed, too."

Professor Juniper looked at the referee, who was also observing Cinccino closely.

"Referee, I can tell when I've lost a match. I give up, before my Pokémon gets hurt even worse."

The man nodded, holding out his hand to Alex.

"Professor Juniper gives up! Alex is the winner of the battle!"

...

Professor Juniper wouldn't let them leave until the next morning.

After being treated to a tasty, warm meal at the Pokécenter, Alex had insisted on moving on, towards Striaton City, but Professor Juniper had rubbed his face and pulled his hair, telling him he was going to take a bath before anything else. And, even though he protested loudly against how Professor Juniper was treating him, Alex eventually gave in and agreed to let the professor book two separate rooms for him and Yena.

In the morning, after a hearty breakfast, Professor Juniper met them in front of the Pokécenter.  
With a warm smile, she handed the yellow Pokédex over to Alex.

"I was going to program it for you, but someone somehow beat me to it."

She winked at Yena, whose face turned red.

"Don't worry about that, Yena. I'm glad Alex found someone he can call his family."

Her words were interrupted but Alex, who coughed.

"I'm really not interested in sentimental stuff."

"Alright, alright, we'll make it a quick goodbye then."

She briefly hugged Yena, smiling at the girl.

"I hope you'll have your first battle soon, and maybe even catch another Pokémon!  
Keep me updated, okay?"

After Yena nodded, Professor Juniper turned to Alex.  
Before he could protest, she pulled him into a hug.  
While he weakly struggled to get out of her arms, she told him:

"I hope we'll see eachother again soon, Alex. Don't forget that I'm your friend."

She took his face in her hands, staring into his eyes.

"And you can't keep hiding like this forever, you hear me? You'll have to tell Yena soon.  
You'll feel better, I promise."

She kissed him on the forehead, then let him go.  
After a moment, looking slightly upset, Alex turned away.

"Well… See you."

At a quick pace, he started to walk towards Route 2, that would lead them to Striaton City.  
He gestured with his hand.

"Yena! You're so slow… let's go!"

With an apologetic smile and a last quick hug for Professor Juniper, Yena rushed after Alex, catching up to him right before the end of Accumula Town.


	6. Counterbalanced: 6

**Chapter 6 – Counterbalanced**

Alex' dark eyes narrowed as the wild Purrloin hissed with annoyance, shaking off the water that Oshawott had propelled towards her.

"Yena, don't let Oshawott use its Water Gun attack. He hasn't mastered it yet.  
You're just making Purrloin angrier, instead of weaker."

Yena nervously observed the wild Pokémon.

"Alex, I don't know what to do…"

His reply was merciless.

"Of course you don't. It's the first time you battle. Figure it out."

Yena frowned, trying to think of a suitable strategy to use, or any strategy at all.  
But the Purrloin seemed tired of waiting.  
The feline Pokémon growled as she jumped forward, moving quite fast, and her claws extended.

"Oshaaa…"

Panicking, Oshawott looked back at Yena for help.

Yena shook her head, trying to think clearly.

"Ehm…Try to tackle Purrloin!"

Her water-Pokémon put on a brave face, running up to its opponent, his little arms stretched out in an attempt to do as much damage as possible. But Purrloin was faster – she jumped around him, causing him to stumble. Her claws delivered a blow to his back.

Tears sprang to Yena's eyes as she heard Oshawott cry out in pain.

"Oh no, Oshawott!"

She turned to Alex, who was calmly observing the battle next to her.  
Zigzagoon was on the ground beside him, currently making angry barking noises against the feline Pokémon.

"I'm losing the battle, Alex! What should I do…?"

He shrugged.

"This is your business. I didn't ask for your advice when I was battling Professor Juniper either, did I?"

"…That's just mean, Alex."

Her eyes widened as she saw something purple move from the corner of her eyes.

"Oshawott, watch out!"

Rolling to the side, Oshawott managed to avoid getting scratched a second time.  
But the Purrloin seemed to be enjoying the chase, because she meowed, and bounced after the fleeing water-Pokémon.

Yena tried looking back at Alex, tears running down her face, but he purposely folded his arms and looked away.

…How could she get out of this fight?

In the meantime, Purrloin had spotted the yellow seashell on Oshawott's stomach, and made an attempt to try and steal the thing.  
Tugging at it with his claws, she caused Oshawott to hold on to his precious possession with all his might.

An idea popped into Yena's head.  
She immediately yelled:

"Oshawott! The shell! Use the shell! It's sharp!"

Because Oshawott was leaning back from his feline opponent, Purrloin cried out in shock as the water-Pokémon suddenly redirected his balance forward, giving in to her pull. Detaching the seashell from his belly, he made a slashing movement with it. Purrloin screeched as it cut into her flesh, and jumped away from Oshawott as fast as she could.

Alex made an approving sound beside her, but she paid no attention to him.  
She ran to her beloved Oshawott, taking him into her arms.  
As she did so, the Purrloin they had been fighting jumped away through the trees with one last meow.

"You were so brave, Oshawott."

She gently patted him on the head.

"Well done."

"Not so eager to catch another Pokémon after all?"

Alex' croaking voice sounded behind her.

Yena got up, facing him.

"I can't even get my Pokémon through his first battle without him getting hurt.  
I don't think I'm ready for a second Pokémon, Alex."

He nodded in agreement.

Yena had been excited about battling.  
As soon as they left Accumula Town, she had asked Alex to refrain from chasing away all the wild Pokémon.  
And without Zigzagoon's repelling work, they had been quick to spot a wild Purrloin.  
Yena had always loved elegant Pokémon, and their cute faces, so she had been quick to send out Oshawott.  
But the reality of her Pokémon getting hurt was scary to her.

"Should we go back to Accumula Town, Alex? I think Oshawott's scratches need medical attention…"

Alex leaned forward, studying the scratches on Oshawott's back.

"Don't baby him too much, Yena. Do you want him to be strong, or will you raise him to be a wimp?  
Those scratches are barely bleeding. It would be like going to the hospital for an innocent bruise.  
I'm sure that, among wide variety of unnecessary things you brought with you, there's some salve to put on that."

Taking every piece of advice, Yena immediately started going through her things.

"It must be here somewhere…"

She looked up at Alex for a second.

"I would've liked a bit of help in there."

She could hear him breathe in to give a sharp reply, but she didn't give him the opportunity to do so.

"And yet… I understand why you let me do it on my own. I need to learn to stand on my own two feet."

She finally got a hold of a small tube of ointment, and started putting the soothing creme on Oshawott's back.

Alex let this breath escape in a sigh.

"…You're probably the most positive person I've ever met."

She rewarded him with a beaming smile.

"Thank you, Alex!"

"It wasn't even a compliment, I'm actually quite terrified by your ability to look at everything on the bright side."

Yena grinned, and looked at Oshawott, already back on his feet, carefully playing a game of chase with Zigzagoon.

"You're just not used to thinking like that. Look, you were right. Oshawott isn't hurt as bad as I thought he was."

She grabbed her Pokémon as he ran by, hugging him again.

"We did learn a very cool attack, didn't we?"

She giggled as Oshawott enthusiastically licked her face as his response.

...

Route 2 was generally a longer, and more complicated road to take than Route 1.  
But to Yena, it seemed like a breeze.

Alex seemed to be more at ease, and why wouldn't he be?  
Professor Juniper had given him his Pokédex, and would report back to her lab that it was all just a big mistake, so that they would not be investigating the case any further.

Alex gave up his plan to travel to Striaton City off-road, and Yena kept Oshawott outside of his Pokéball, so that he could play with Zigzagoon some more. The two Pokémon seemed to really get along, happily chatting with eachother in their own language.

As they walked, Yena tried to coax some information out of Alex.

"It must've been good seeing a friendly face again."

He glanced at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, how long had it been since you last saw Professor Juniper?"

Another brief look.

"What are you playing at?"

She gently smiled at him.

"I'm just being curious, Alex. That's all.  
It's not like anything you tell me will be in the newspapers tomorrow."

He lightly jumped aside as Zigzagoon dashed by, chased by Oshawott.

"It better not be."

After a moment of silence, he sighed, giving in.

"I think it's been a little over two years since I last saw Professor Juniper."

"Wow, two years, huh?"

Yena hesitated before she went on.

"When you saw her, did you still have your… old identity?"

He gradually slowed his pace.

"You're threading on thin ice, Yena."

When Alex came to a halt, Yena turned around apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't mean to pry…"

But something else had caught Alex' attention.  
He was studying a piece of paper on the side of a tree.  
He nodded at it as she walked back, and peered over his shoulder.

"Look."

It seemed to be some kind of advertisement.  
Big, red letters seemed to scream out their message to them.

_'Are you up for a challenge?  
Can you ensnare one of the rare Pokémon in our field?  
You keep what you catch!'_

The drawing at the lower half of the paper showed a big, brown Pokémon attacking a man with its horns.  
The drawing itself was quite amusing, but the text at the bottom of the page warned them:

_'Our challenge isn't a walk in the park.  
Participating is at your own risk.  
Dangerous Pokémon roam our grounds!'_

Yena looked at Alex, who was waiting for her to finish reading.  
He pointed west, through the trees.

"When I was travelling through here, I actually stumbled upon the place where they keep this challenge.  
I'm sure it's highly illegal, if they hide it in the woods like that. I saw three guys trying it.  
They weren't allowed to take their Pokémon with them, only empty Pokéballs."

Impressed, Yena asked:

"What happened?"

"Well, what do you think? The Pokémon there don't belong to anyone, but they're fenced in all the time.  
I'd get aggressive as well, if someone locked me up like that. They attack anyone coming into the enclosure."

Seeing how the story horrified Yena, he grinned, and continued:

"One of the guys was beat up by a high-leveled Tangela.  
The keepers of the grounds had to send out their Pokémon to free him from those tentacles.  
Because he had needed their help, he lost the challenge, and was sent away from the grounds.  
The second man that tried actually got quite far. I think he set his mind to one of the Manetric they had there, but those Pokémon weren't having any of that. I was watching from outside the grounds, but I could see the lightning, and hear his screams.  
And the third man… he was unlucky. He came across the most furious Pokémon in the enclosure.  
He practically flew through the fence when _that_ Pokémon attacked."

He gestured at the Pokémon drawn on the paper.  
With big eyes, Yena studied the drawing closer.

"I don't even know what that is… I've never seen that Pokémon before."

"Oh, but you will soon."

Yena didn't know what to say when she looked at his face.  
His dark eyes seemed to have lit up, and he grinned excitedly.

"…You're planning on taking that challenge."

"Yes, and above all, I plan on catching an amazing Pokémon."

He ripped the paper from the tree, and turned west.

"Let's go, Yena. We're going to take a detour, before we go to Striaton City.  
I know the way."


	7. Counterbalanced: 7

**Chapter 7 – Counterbalanced**

_Someone is talking nearby._

Can't move.  
So sleepy…

A door slams shut.  
Why can't I open my eyes?

Are my eyes open?  
It's so dark.

Where am I?  
Am I dreaming?

The sharp smell of smoke.  
It's so dark.  
Wait.  
There's light coming from under the door.

The door opens.  
Fire! Fire!  
Flames coming into the room!

...

Alex sat up, gasping for air.  
He looked around wildly, looking for any sign of fire.  
But there was nothing. The moon was the only source of light.

Yena was quietly observing him from where she had been sleeping.

Zigzagoon rubbed its head against Alex' arm to calm its master down.  
Absently scratching his Pokémon's head, Alex took a couple of deep breaths.  
The nightmares were getting worse, and more frequent.

"I just…"

But his throat was dry, and made his voice sound even more hoarse.

Yena's voice sounded incredibly melodious compared to his, as she whispered:

"It's okay, Alex. Why don't you drink some water?  
We should try to catch some more sleep than this, it's still in the middle of the night."

As he crawled over to Yena's bag, where she kept some bottles of water, she continued:

"Try and think about something else. Maybe tomorrow's challenge?"

She paused.

"…That won't work for me, though. I can't stop thinking about it.  
I really don't want you getting hurt, Alex."

Refreshed by the water, Alex went back to his sleeping place.  
He lay down on his back, patting on his stomach to invite Zigzagoon to roll up on it.

"I won't get hurt. Go back to sleep, Yena."

...

Yena shivered as she looked at the other spectators on the safe side of the fence.  
There were all kinds of people around here, but she trusted none of them.

Every time a new person entered the field, a lively game of gambling unfolded, on a wide variety of points:  
would the contestant catch a Pokémon, would he be hit with a Pokémon attack, would he have to be carried outside…  
the list of possible gambling subjects went on and on.

She looked down at Zigzagoon, who was sitting at her feet.

Alex had given him instructions to protect her, an assignment the Pokémon seemed to take very seriously, ferociously growling and barking at any man that had dared to look at her. She kneeled down next to the Pokémon, gently patting him on the head.

"I hope your owner will be okay, Zigzagoon."

He looked up at her, and barked once, as if to say: 'don't worry!'

Yena smiled at him, and redirected her attention to the field inside the electric fences.

She flinched as a man ran by, chased by a furious Dodrio, the three heads pecking at his head and back.  
This man had entered the field only ten minutes ago, but he was now heading directly towards the exit, without a new Pokémon.

She whispered at Zigzagoon: "I think Alex might be next."

...

Alex stepped aside as the man darted through the door.  
It was immediately closed behind him, blocking the exit for the Dodrio.  
The three heads pounded at the thick, wooden door for a couple of minutes, then gave up.

The massive man by the door, probably the owner of the facility, waited a moment before turning to Alex.

"Y'know, you're awfully small and skinny. Y'sure you up for this?"

Alex gave the man his meanest glare, for underestimating him.

"Let me in already."

The man shrugged, unimpressed by Alex' piercing dark eyes.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. As you know, you're not allowed to take a Pokémon with you."

Alex spread his arms.

"I don't have my Pokémon on me right now! I know the rules."

The man ignored him, continuing the story he probably put on for every contestant.

"However, you are allowed to take one empty Pokéball. You keep what you catch.  
If we have to come out to help you chase away the attacking Pokémon, you failed the test and you'll be removed from the field."

Alex sighed loudly.

"I know, I know! Let me get started!"

Finally done with explaining the rules, the man pulled up one thick eyebrow.

"You seem eager to get hurt. Go ahead, then."

...

Alex breathed in deep as the door closed behind him.  
He glanced to the other side of the fence, quickly spotting Yena's bright blue and white clothes.  
He sighed again, trying to focus.

Alex was now standing in a wide-open field, clearly visible to any Pokémon, and he immediately sensed he should look for a safer place.  
With a steady pace, he jogged towards a group of trees, still scanning around for any movement.

He reached the trees without trouble.

Light-footed, he pulled himself up on a branch, and on the next one.  
Soon, he was positioned high enough to have a good view of the place.

There! A blue Pokémon on the ground, not even far from the group of trees.

Alex recognised it as a Heracross, its horn clearly visible as it wandered closer and closer, oblivious to Alex' presence.  
Alex could've taken a shot at catching it on that moment, but he quickly forgot about the bug-Pokémon when he noticed some kind of commotion behind a group of rocks in the distance.  
Some Pokémon were rampaging there.

Alex silently cursed to himself as he eyed the patch of grass between the trees and the rocks.  
It was quite a distance, and he had seen quite a few challengers get ambushed by angry Pokémon on that place.  
He had no intentions of facing off against any other Pokémon than the one he had in mind.

But he didn't have much of a choice.

Slowly, trying not to disturb the Heracross that was still foraging nearby, he lowered himself to the lowest branch.  
After taking one last look around the field, Alex positioned himself so he was facing directly to the rocks, his target.

With one last deep breath, he stretched his legs, leaping as far as he could.

Immediately after his feet touched the ground, he started running for the group of rocks.  
To his left, he heard a Pokémon call out to the others, but Alex practically flew across the grass, not paying any attention to the various Pokémon that were starting to chase him from his left side.

Alex didn't get into trouble until he was only seconds away from jumping behind the rocks.

He could hear Yena's scream warning him right before a sharp thorn pierced his right shoulder.  
Losing his balance for a moment, he rolled over his left shoulder, landing back on his feet.  
He quickly turned around, just in time to duck away and dodge another Poison Sting attack, coming from a furious-looking Cacnea.

The thorn was still sticking out from his shoulder, making it very painful to move his right arm at all.  
Alex knew he would soon be feeling sick because of the poison on the thorn, but tried not to let that thought distract him, relying on the adrenaline rush to help him through.

The other Pokémon gave him no time to remove the sharp object from his shoulder.  
While they attacked, more Pokémon gathered around to crush him, tackle him or chase him away.

Alex jumped back when an Absol tried to tackle him, shoving the Pokémon aside with his left arm.  
He then jumped over a Paras, just in time to avoid the no-doubt dangerous spores coming out the mushrooms on its back.  
He was briefly scratched on his leg by a Glameow as he moved by, but he kicked in her direction, making her jump back.

However, all air was slammed out of his lungs when a massive hand grabbed his leg, pulled it back, causing Alex to fall over.  
Gasping for air, he turned around, discovering his ankle had been caught by the tailhand of an Ambipom.  
Alex ferociously kicked and twisted to get the Pokémon to let go of him, shouting obscenities at it, while his right shoulder painfully throbbed as the thorn sank in deeper when leaned on it.

He didn't seem to be impressing Ambipom with his struggles, so Alex was caught off-guard when the purple Pokémon suddenly let go of his leg.  
He immediately got back to his feet to defend himself against the other Pokémon, but they seemed to have backed off as well.

The sound of hooves on the ground announced the arrival of something much larger and stronger, and it was clear the other Pokémon didn't want to be around when it attacked.

Turning around, Alex could see a cloud of dust forming behind the approaching Pokémon.  
A grin appeared on Alex' face. This is what he had been waiting for.

As the Pokémon rapidly came closer, Alex could make out more details.  
Charging wildly, the brown Pokémon mooed, its brown manes moving in the wind as it ran.  
The three studs on his forehead matched his silver-colored horns.

Alex snapped back to reality when he could hear the whipping sound its three tails made.

Crossing the last bit of space between him and the group of rocks on the last moment, Alex threw himself on the large stones, pulling his legs up right before the massive Tauros hit them.  
The impact of Tauros' head against the large rock was incredible.  
The collision sent a shock through Alex' body, who could hardly imagine what would've happened if he hadn't moved aside.

Yet, there was still an unpleasant surpise waiting for him.

Slowly but surely, the rock he was sitting on started to crumble.  
Tauros had moved back a bit, ominously watching as Alex could do nothing but to slide off the collapsing rock, landing right in front of the bovine Pokémon.

As Tauros sniffed angrily, probably getting ready for another attack, Alex gave the brown Pokémon a shaky smile.

His voice croaked, as he said:

"Wow. You really are an amazing Pokémon."

He didn't get the chance to continue, because Tauros angrily shoved him with his head, causing Alex to fall on his back.  
Now at the mercy of the massive bull standing over him, its head hovering only inches above his own, Alex' eyes widened, but he managed to cry out:

"Wait! Wait! Hear me out!"

As Tauros sniffed again, Alex hurried to say:

"At least hear what I have to say! If you still want to trample me after I'm done, so be it!  
But give me this one chance!"

Alex hardly dared to breathe as he waited.  
But Tauros seemed to have calmed down a little, still sniffing impatiently, but showing no signs of wanting to stab Alex with its horns.  
Alex, not wanting to spook the Pokémon, slowly opened his hand, showing Tauros the empty Pokéball.

"Look. I'll put this right here."

Alex carefully placed the Pokéball next to him in the grass.  
He then looked back at Tauros.

"I have a plan, but I need your help. You're in charge of the Pokémon in this enclosure, yes?  
They'll have to stop attacking me for this plan to work. Listen…"

Leaning in a bit closer, it's nose only inches away from Alex' face, Tauros listened to what Alex explained to him.  
After Alex had finished, Tauros' head went back up, clearly overthinking what he had been told.

Angrily, he scraped one of his hooves along the ground, barely missing Alex head.

"You don't think you can trust me, do you? What if… What if I tell you my secret…?  
Not even the girl I'm travelling with knows this, but my other Pokémon does.  
If you know something like that about me, wouldn't that be a sign of faith from me?"

...

Yena, still shaking, and holding on to Zigzagoon for support, was breathlessly staring at the massive Pokémon standing over Alex.  
To her right, the shady men were busily placing bets on how Alex would be knocked out by Tauros: whether he'd be trampled by those hooves, or taken up by those horns… Yena could hear all kinds of horrible ways to get attacked by that beast.

Yena's Pokédex had told her:

_'Tauros heightens its will to fight by whipping itself with its three tails. Once it takes aim at its foe, it makes a headlong charge.  
It is famous for its violent nature.'_

This clearly was the Pokémon pictured on the poster, was Alex planning on catching that thing?  
He was hardly in the position of catching anything right now, on his back, surrounded by angry Pokémon.  
But as she looked closely, Yena could see Alex' mouth moving.  
Was he talking to the Pokémon?

As she watched, Alex lifted his head, and Tauros lowered it.  
He currently seemed to be whispering in Tauros' ear.

The crowd of people next to Yena was also following every movement in the field.  
Yena gasped as Tauros moved back a little bit, roughly pushing his nose against Alex' stomach, then to his neck, as if he was examining him by smell.

What happened next was nowhere near the crowd's expectations.

Tauros first held his head up high, making a series of low sounds against the other Pokémon.  
He then pushed his nose against the Pokéball in the grass, and disappeared in a flash of light.

...

As the Pokéball clicked, in confirmation of Tauros' capture, Alex slowly got up.  
Unable to properly move his right arm, he held the Pokéball in his left hand as he made his way to the exit.

The rest of the Pokémon stared at him, not moving an inch as he walked by.

It was silent on the other side of the fence as well, as if the crowd was unable to find a suitable way to respond to this unexpected event.  
But as he approached the thick wooden door, he could hear Yena cheering and calling out to him on the other side.

Somehow, he managed to produce a grin as the door opened.

As soon as he stepped over the doorsill, Yena flew into his arms, crying and laughing at the same time.

"You must be crazy! _Crazy!_ …But you did it! And don't ever scare me like that again, you hear me?  
But you managed to shut all those gambling men up, you should have seen their faces…!"

The owner of the grounds' low voice interruped Yena's waterfall of words.

"You took my main attraction. Rules are rules, so I'll let you take him.  
But get out of here, and don't show your face here ever again, you hear me?"

The threat was unmistakable. Yena's face turned red, not used to being treated that way.  
Alex merely nodded.

"Then we'll be off now."

...

They had been walking for ten minutes, making their way back to Route 2, when Alex sighed deeply, and sank down on the mossy ground.  
It was then that Yena noticed exactly how pale Alex' face was.  
She gasped as he rolled over on the ground, revealing the injury caused by Cacnea's thorn.  
His shoulder had completely swollen up, and the skin around the thorn was red.

"Alex! Oh no! You need to go to a hospital, or a Pokécenter, but we're not even near one right now! What should I do?"

She fell down on her knees next to him, close to tears.

Alex' voice sounded muffled as he spoke:

"Don't… baby me like Oshawott. At least… pull out the thorn."

Yena studied the thorn.

"I think I can pull it out if you stay still… Maybe I should put some salve on it next?"

Alex growled, but she assumed he agreed with the plan, because he lay perfectly still as she prepared to pull the thorn out.  
Alex flinched as she grabbed Cacnea's thorn and yanked it out, but made no sound.  
It took him some time to find his voice again, though.

After she put some soothing ointment on the wound, he told her:

"…Right. Well done. I'll be okay now. Give me some water, I'll need every strength I can get."

Yena immediately handed him one of the bottles from her bag.

"Do you think you can make it to Striaton City, Alex?"

He frowned.

"No. I have something else to do before we can go to Striaton City."

He took another sip of water, then looked straight at her.

"…I promised Tauros I would free all Pokémon in that enclosure, before anything."


	8. Counterbalanced: 8

**Chapter 8 – Counterbalanced**

"You're injured, and your plan could be dangerous…"

"I told you, I'm okay! Don't you want to free those Pokémon?"

"Of course I do, but…"

"They're wild Pokémon, but it doesn't feel that way.  
How would you feel if you were locked up like that?"

"I would feel horrible. But why don't you…"

"Why don't _you_ try and live on the wild side of life for once?  
Just give it a go, find out how exciting it can be.  
And don't you _dare_ to say it's not for girls, because that's the lamest excuse ever."

"…I wasn't going to say that."

"We're going to put my plan into action when it's dark.  
We might as well wait here."

"…You're not going to change your mind, are you?"

...

The flash from Alex' Pokéball lit up the dark trees around them.  
Yena slightly backed away from the impressive Pokémon as Tauros appeared in front of them.

She found him to be even scarier at night than by day. Holding Oshawott tightly against her chest, she glanced over to Alex.  
Even in the dark, she could see his shoulder looked a lot better now that the thorn was pulled out, but Yena worried about the poison that was still in his body.

Even though she protested greatly against his plan, he had bluntly refused to come with her.  
It had been leaving or helping him, so she decided to assist him in every way she could, and then rush him to the nearest hospital.

He now carefully approached Tauros, and after giving the Pokémon a moment to sniff his scent, he proceeded to stroke the large bull's nose.  
Tauros scraped one of his hooves across the ground, but accepted the surprisingly gentle touch with a sniff.  
Zigzagoon, completely stressed out since Alex got hurt, hadn't left its master's side for even a second.  
The raccoon-Pokémon looked up at Tauros, and barked shortly at the bull.

Tauros lowered his head, enabling the two Pokémon to touch noses as a greeting.

Alex pointed through the trees, now talking to Yena, Tauros, Zigzagoon and Oshawott at the same time.

"It's a five-minute walk from here.  
I don't think the owner guards the enclosure well, since he has an electric fence around the field anyway."

He turned to Yena.

"Do you understand the plan?"

She nodded. How could she not?  
He had been explaining it over and over again while they had been waiting for the sun to set.

"Yes. I'll go first, with Oshawott and Zigzagoon, and run around the enclosure until I find the power source of the electric fence.  
It will probably be shielded from wild Pokémon, and have a lock on it."

She exchanged looks with Zigzagoon.

"Zigzagoon will open the lock, if possible."

The Pokémon nodded, and she continued.

"If the power source is open to us, Oshawott will use his Water Gun attack, causing a short circuit and the electric fence to turn off.  
If everything goes well, Zigzagoon will bark three times, and you and Tauros can do your part."

Her eyes had found Alex again.

"If Zigzagoon fails to open the lock, we'll return here, where you'll be waiting."

"That's right. I'm not expecting the lock on the power source to be a complex one, though."

"…Alex, are you sure you want to do this now?"

Alex sighed impatiently, his pale face barely visible in the dark.

"Are we still having this conversation? If you're so eager to get me to Striaton City… get going already!"

Yena's heartbeat seemed to go faster as she placed Oshawott on the ground to walk on its own.  
She wanted to call Zigzagoon, but the Pokémon had already appeared by her side the second she had started walking away.  
Alex, quietly standing next to Tauros, seemed to slowly disappear in the dark as she made her way to the enclosure.

Yena swallowed with difficulty as she stumbled forwards, holding out her hands in front of her, in case she overlooked an obstacle and bumped into it.  
Encouraged by Zigzagoon and Oshawott by her side, she spent the next couple of minutes finding her way through the forest.  
When the number of trees decreased, she could see the fence twenty steps away, barely visible in the sparse moonlight.

"Okay, there we go."

Even her hardly audible whisper seemed loud on the silent field.  
There were no sounds coming from inside the fence, either.

Zigzagoon rubbed its head against her left leg, which she explained as an encouragement to approach the fence.  
Careful not to touch it, she peered through it, but there were no Pokémon to be seen.

The ground was much more accessible around the fence.

She whispered at the two Pokémon, who followed close behind her:

"Keep your eyes and ears open, guys."

...

As soon as Yena had disappeared out of sight, Alex made his way to a tree trunk, and sat down with a sigh.  
He felt Tauros' eyes on him, and quietly stared back for a while.

"Don't worry. This will work. I always keep my promises."

Tauros sniffed, but it was impossible for Alex to see its expression in the dark.

"This is a nice place for wild Pokémon. Your friends will be able to live around here quite happily.  
Maybe they'll run into a nice trainer, who captures them after a fair fight."

Another sniff, but a lighter one this time, and Alex continued while staring in the distance:

"…Maybe I'm not big, or strong, or anything you expected of your future trainer.  
But I have developed the incredible talent of getting into trouble, so you'll get plenty of opportunities to run wild, destroy things and fight other Pokémon."

He heard Tauros' hooves on the mossy forest ground as the Pokémon stepped closer to him.

Alex backed away slightly as Tauros' nose nudged his hurt shoulder.  
But the Pokémon persisted, nudging it again, then licking it.

Alex pushed Tauros' head away with his hands.

"Alright, alright. So you're worried about me as well. Yena and you should form a club.  
Let's panic about this _after_ we released your friends, okay?"

Alex pulled a face as Tauros snorted near his face.

"Very charming, thank you. Now shush. We don't want to miss Zigzagoon's signal."

...

Yena was jogging around the enclosure counterclockwise.  
Panting slightly, she squinted her eyes to spot any abnormality near the fence.

Nothing so far, but at one point, she jumped and nearly screamed as a wild Pokémon from Route 2 suddenly crossed her path.  
Immediately, Zigzagoon sped up his pace, and chased away the equally shocked Lillipup.

Slowing down for a moment, she looked down at the two Pokémon by her side.

"What if we can't find that power source at all?"

Oshawott, who was looking slightly worn out, shrugged.  
Zigzagoon jumped ahead, and looked back after a few steps, encouraging them to go on.

Yena sighed, trying to get her breath under control.

"Let's go, Oshawott."

...

Yena's heart sank as they arrived at a small, wooden building against the electric fence.  
This was through where all contestants, including Alex, had entered the enclosure.  
Which meant she had almost completed the circle around the fence, without finding its source of power.

The building had no windows. But Zigzagoon placed its ear against the door, listening intently.

When he looked back with some enthusiasm on its little face, Yena approached the building, closing her eyes as she tried to hear anything from the other side of the door. She could feel Oshawott moving near her legs, imitating her as he placed his head against the wooden door.

There! If she concentrated, she could hear the slightest buzzing sound.  
It was such a soft noise, that it was not strange she hadn't noticed it when she had waited inside this building for Alex to come back from his challenge earlier that day.

Yena kneeled down next to Zigzagoon and Oshawott.

"The powersource must be inside. What are we going to do now?"

Zigzagoon determinately pushed his head against the wooden door. He wanted to go in.

Yena shook her head.

"How are we going to get in here?"

She didn't get much time to think about it.  
At the last moment, she heard footsteps from inside the building, and a key turning inside the doorlock.

With a gasp, Yena stumbled back, just in time to avoid the door that suddenly opened.  
The angry-looking owner of the enclosure was standing in front of her.

He grumbled.

"What are you doing here, sneaking around like that?"

Yena's face instantly turned red as she panicked.

"I… I was just…"

No lies came to mind.  
The owner clicked on the flashlight in his hand, and a ray of light instantly blinded Yena.

"Wait. You're that girl. With the lad. That took my Tauros."

Another angry growl.

"Why are you here?"

On that moment, Zigzagoon started to bark.  
The high-pitched noises seemed unusually loud in the quiet forest, and the owner's attention was instantly drawn to the Pokémon.

"Shut up! Let that thing shut its mouth!"

Yena shrugged, and gathered some courage.

"I can't. He's not my Pokémon."

She gestured at the Oshawott by her side.

"This one is, though. Oshawott, Tackle!"

In the confusion of Zigzagoon's constant barking, Oshawott sprinted forward, jumping at the last minute, and hitting the man's stomach at full speed.  
The owner of the enclosure's arms waved as he fell backwards, and landed on his back.  
He shouted some obscenities at Yena, but she wasn't going to stay there to hear them.  
Her face still red with excitement, she jumped over the man on the floor, instantly followed by the two Pokémon.  
She quickly looked around the small house.

There was not much to be seen, except a bed in the corner where the man had been sleeping, some posters on the wall of tough-looking Pokémon, the big wooden door to the other side of the electric fence, and…

…in the far right corner, a little box containing a buzzing generator, with wires coming out of it, leading outside to power the electric fence.

"Oshawott, there!"

The words had barely left her mouth, when a strong arm grabbed her around the waist and effortlessly lifted her off the ground.  
Yena shrieked as the man tossed her over his shoulder, and made his way to the other wooden door, that led to the inside of the enclosure.

While kicking in Zigzagoon's direction, who was furiously trying to bite his heels, the owner of the enclosure told her:

"I don't know what the law says about breaking and entering, little lady, but I think spending some time in my little backyard is quite a suitable punishment for you. Weren't you going there in the first place? You must've been jealous of your friend, catching a strong Pokémon like that. Well, have fun!"

Unimpressed by Yena's attempts to kick him, he opened the thick, wooden door, and threw her off his shoulder.  
As he prepared to close the door behind her, Zigzagoon managed to jump past his legs, joining Yena outside of the building.

The door slammed shut.

Panicked, Yena got up and threw herself against the door.

"Oshawott! Oshawott, get out of there!"

Sounds were still coming from inside the building.  
Oshawott was proving difficult to catch, because she could hear the owner cursing loudly.

Yena kicked against the door, feeling both worried and frustrated.  
This isn't how it was supposed to go!

Zigzagoon had started barking again.  
Yena slowly turned around as she heard other Pokémon reply, from within the enclosure.

She hissed at Zigzagoon:

"What are you doing? Those other Pokémon will attack us!"

The wild Pokémon's cries got louder, and she began to see their silhouettes appear from the dark.  
Fighting back the tears that had started to run down her face, she began to yell at the approaching Pokémon.

"Don't attack us, please! We're not here to harm you, or catch you!  
We came to release you, and destroy the electric fence around the field! Please believe me! Zigzagoon, _tell them_!"

But the Pokémon at her feet kept producing frantic barks.  
When Yena backed away from the wild Pokémon as far as she could, standing with her back against the wooden door, she could hear a cry of pain from inside the building.

"_Argh!_ You little-…!"

Yena breathed in deep. Oshawott was not giving up, and neither would she.

A movement from outside the fence, near the building caught her eye, at the same time Zigzagoon abruptly stopped barking.  
Feeling an incredible relief, Yena's legs nearly gave up as she ran to the electric fence.

"_Alex! _I'm over here!"

Alex was running along the fence, stopping dead in his tracks when he reached her.  
Panting slightly, he pointed at the building.

"Is the powersource over there?"

As she nodded, he produced one loud whistle, which was replied to by a ominous mooing sound from the forest, and the sound of hooves on the forest ground. Then, he cast one look at Yena and Zigzagoon.

"Where's Oshawott?"

Wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, Yena replied:

"He's still in there! We were attacked by the owner of this place!"

A flash of panic appeared on Alex' face.

"Run back there, and tell Oshawott to get to the side of the building, _quick_!  
Then get out of there, Yena! Tauros will not stop until he hits something!"

Yena could hear the whipping sound of Tauros' tails as she sprinted back to the small wooden building.  
Completely ignoring the wild Pokémon around her, she screamed:

"_Oshawott!_ Get to the generator, _fast!_"

She wanted to get closer to the building to warn him again, but Zigzagoon had suddenly jumped in front of her feet, causing her to fall over.  
The next moment, there was an incredibly loud crash as the front door was shattered by the rampaging Tauros.  
Only one second later, the backdoor flew out of its posts.  
It may had been impenetrable from the outside, but the thick wooden door was no match for the strong Pokémon from inside the building.

A huge cloud of dust followed the bovine Pokémon outside.  
When the dust settled, Yena shakily got up.  
She coughed once, before she could call out to her Pokémon again.

"Oshawott! Please be okay, Oshawott!"

She gave a sigh of relief as her beloved Oshawott replied to her from the remains of the building.

As she looked through the destroyed doorway, she was just in time to see her brave water-Pokémon produce a strong jet of water, that hit the generator. Sparks flew from the electric fence's powersource as the water caused a short circuit, and the machine went quiet a couple of seconds later. Oshawott turned to her, and jumped into her open arms with great enthusiasm.

A growl behind her made Yena look over her shoulder.

Shocked by the massive Pokémon crashing into the house, the big man had fallen back for a minute.  
Realising the doors were missing, and the wild Pokémon were preparing to escape, his rage was building fast.

But before he could do anything to the girl in front of him, Alex seemed to appear out of nowhere, delivering a carefully placed punch with his left fist. While not incredibly powerful, the attack had been accurate. The man sank down on the ground, unconcious.

Looking down on the knocked out man, he led the speechless Yena away, back to the enclosure.  
Tauros was waiting for them there, along with Zigzagoon and the ferocious-looking wild Pokémon.

Alex turned to Tauros.

"Your words will mean more to them than mine. Please tell your friends that they're free to leave."

While Tauros turned to the wild Pokémon and told them this, Alex continued.

"I saw that Oshawott killed the power of the electric fence.  
If the Pokémon here know how to cut or slash, it might be wise of them to destroy the fence, so that it'll take a long time for that man to rebuild his business."

When Tauros bowed his head in acknowledgement of his comments, Alex added one last thing.

"Also, tell them that they should live in peace with the people populating this area.  
There'll be no attacking and hurting trainers anymore, but only fair challenges."

...

An hour later, the last wild Pokémon left, leaving the fence of the enclosure completely destroyed.  
One by one, they had disappeared into the night, but their delighted cries could still be heard in the forest around them.

Yena and Alex were sitting on the grass, resting, with their backs against the remains of the wooden building.  
Inside, the beat up man was sticking to one of the walls, as a result of several bug Pokémon's String Shot attacks.  
He would be unable to move around until his gambling buddies found him the next morning.

Yena lovingly patted Oshawott's head.

"You've been really brave, Oshawott. I'm really proud of you."

She pulled her Pokémon closer for another cuddle.

Alex voice sounded softly beside her.

"I think his owner deserves some words of appreciation as well.  
You did some courageous things in there."

Surprised by the sudden compliment, she looked at the young man next to her.

"Thank you, Alex… But it was a good thing you came to save me."

Alex had his eyes closed, the back of his head also resting against the wall behind them.

"Of course. Can't let you have all the fun…"

His comment was somewhat lost when his voice trailed off at the end of the sentence.  
Slightly apprehensive, Yena reached over and held her hand against his forehead.  
His high temperature confirmed her worries, along with the fact Alex made no attempts to shake off her hand.

"Alex, you have a really serious fever! That poison is still affecting you. We have to get you to a hospital, _now_.  
…Come on, can you stand?"

Yena got to her feet, grabbing Alex' arms to encourage him to stand up.  
Her efforts to help him up were interrupted by Tauros, who had been closely following the conversation.  
Yena quickly let go of Alex when Tauros shoved her.

Still impressed with the big Pokémon, she stepped back a little.

"We _have_ to get Alex to a hospital, can't you see?"

Tauros had a plan of its own. Folding its legs under him, he lay down and leaned against Alex.  
The short, but loud snorting sound he made woke Alex up a little.  
Feeling Tauros' warm manes brush against his arm, he reached over, and got a hold of them.  
Yena, now understanding Tauros' intentions, helped Alex to place one of his legs across Tauros' back.

"Alright, hold on Alex."

Carefully, Tauros got to his feet, and started walking towards Striaton City.

Yena quickly collected their things, and with both bags on her back and Oshawott and Zigzagoon at her feet, hurried after the bovine Pokémon.


	9. Counterbalanced: 9

**Chapter 9 – Counterbalanced**

Feeling disoriented, Yena almost rolled off the soft bench she had been sleeping on.  
Striaton City's Nurse Joy, who had gently woken her up, stopped her just in time.  
The pink-haired lady helped the sleepy girl sit up.

"Good morning. I see you managed to catch some sleep."

Yena rubbed her face, shaking off her sleepiness.

Sounds from her surroundings started to get through to her – people rushing by, the lamps above her head buzzing softly, the cries of Pokémon that needed medical attention…  
Striaton City's Pokécenter was a busy place.

Memories from last night came back to her as well.  
The night nurse had been surprised, to say the least, to see a Tauros walk through the door, carrying Alex on its back.  
She had hardly paid any attention to Yena, and the girl had been given no choice but to wait in the hallway while Alex was being looked after in hospital wing reserved for people.

Yena looked up at Nurse Joy.

"Thank you for waking me…  
Do you know anything about Alex? How is he doing?"

Nurse Joy's eyebrows went up in surprise.  
She took a quick look on the sheets of papers she was carrying.  
Then she took out a pen from a pocket on her chest, changing something on the form.

"…He has been quite a handful. The night nurse was clearly exhausted when I arrived here this morning."

Yena frowned.

"That sounds worse than I thought. Is he badly hurt?"

Nurse Joy shook her head.

"Don't worry about Alex' injuries, he'll be fine. It's just that he resisted all treatment quite agressively.  
We eventually managed to give him some antidote, so he should be feeling much better soon."

Yena got up from the bench.

"Can I see him now?"

Nurse Joy looked at her for a while.

"Are you just travelling buddies, or…?"

Yena quickly got out Alex' Pokédex from his bag.

"I'm his sister. And this is his Pokédex. I don't know if you need to look at it?"

"No, no. That's fine. It'll be good for him to see his sister.  
We gave him something to help him calm down, so he'll probably be a little drowsy."

Yena grabbed their bags, preparing to enter the hospital wing.  
But Nurse Joy stopped her, and looked back at the paperwork she was holding.

"One last thing. The night nurse changed Alex clothes when he was brought in.  
She noticed he was quite underweight."

Blood rushed to Yena's face.

"We only started travelling together recently. But he's been eating proper meals since then!"

Somewhat reassured, Nurse Joy nodded, writing something down on the forms.

"What would you like us to do with the clothes he was wearing? They're ragged and worn out."

When Yena hesitated, she added:

"There are plenty of clothing shops in Striaton City.  
We're keeping Alex here for another 24 hours, just to see if the antidote has worked properly.  
I'm sure you can find something he likes in that time frame."

...

Alex turned his head when Yena opened the door to his room.  
She smiled at him, hoping to make him feel more at ease.

"Hey, you. How are you doing?"

She closed the door behind her.

Alex had pulled up the sheets of his bed to just under his chin, but she could see he was wearing white hospital clothes when he prepared to sit up.  
He gave up after a few seconds, sinking back into the pillows with a sigh.  
Yena could hear an undertone of anger as he said:

"They took my clothes."

Yena nodded.

"Nurse Joy told me about that."

Alex paused, as if he expected her to say something else.  
When she didn't, he asked:

"…Can you get them back for me?"

Yena sat down on a chair next to his bed.

"I can do even better than that.  
Nurse Joy told me there were some great shops in Striaton City, so I can get you some new clothes while you get better!"

Alex frowned, as if it was difficult for him to concentrate.

"…What? No… I don't want new clothes. Just give me back my old ones."

"The ones you had were okay for summer, but just think how cold you'd be when autumn comes."

"…I don't care."

Yena held up her hands.

"Too bad, Alex. Nurse Joy already threw them away. I'll make sure to buy something you like."

Alex opened his mouth as if he was going to yell at her, but closed it again at the last moment, looking tired.

"I can't afford new clothes. Or anything at all."

"Don't worry about that, I can buy you the clothes."

When he made no further objections, she studied his face.

"Now tell me how you're feeling. Are you feeling sick at all?"

His reply was sluggish.

"…Sick of being here, yes. I _hate_ hospitals… I really do, Yena.  
I was ready to leave, but that damn nurse gave me something so I could sleep."

Yena got up as she noticed Alex' words were getting slower.

"Why don't you take a nap, Alex? You'll have to stay here for a little bit longer.  
I'll be back in a bit, okay?"

When she walked out the room, Alex was already asleep.

...

The clear sky and the pleasant temperature promised a fantastic day for those spending their time outside.

Yena had only been as far from her home as Accumula Town, and the lively Striaton City was a nice surprise for her –  
there was a market going on, with vendors inviting customers to their stands.  
Looking at the fresh products as she walked by, Yena's stomach growled, loudly pointing out the urgent need of breakfast to her.

She exchanged a couple of coins for some fruit, and ate one of the apples while she strolled across the market.  
There were some Pokémon helping their owners on the market as well.  
She was stopped by a friendly Panpour, that offered her decorative ribbons in exchange for Pokédollars.  
Yena's mood lifted by the delicious fruit and the fantastic weather, she picked out a light blue ribbon, paying the Pokémon and spending the next couple of minutes putting it in her hair.

A brightly-colored poster caught Yena's attention – the Trainers' School was open to anyone wanting to learn more about Pokémon.  
She promised herself to visit it with Alex, as soon as he was feeling better.

Her thoughts back with Alex, she looked around for a sign of a clothing store.  
She quickly noticed there was an abundance of them.

Where to start? She promised Alex to bring him back something he liked, but…

…An idea suddenly came to her.

Yena got out a Pokéball from one of the bags she was still carrying on her shoulder.  
A moment later, Zigzagoon appeared in front of her, looking up to her in surprise.  
She kneeled down in front of him.

"It's okay, Zigzagoon. Alex is being looked after, and he'll be just fine.  
I know you're not my Pokémon, but I'd like your help. I'm looking for some clothes for Alex, something that he'd like.  
Do you feel like assisting me? You probably know Alex better than I do."

Zigzagoon nodded happily, and followed Yena into the nearest clothing store.  
She quickly discovered Alex' Pokémon had a clear idea of what his owner would or wouldn't like.

Within minutes, they had developed a sorting system where she would show Zigzagoon a piece of clothing, and he'd either growl or bark.  
After visiting a couple of stores, Yena had a better vision of Alex taste in clothing.

...

_Is there a way out?  
Open the window!_

The air is so thick! Can't breathe!  
Open the window! Open the window!

The fire is so close now, scorching hot!  
Open the window! Open the window! Open the window!

Yes! Fresh air in my face.  
Crawl outside!

It's too small!  
I can't squeeze through!  
I'm stuck!

The flames have reached my legs!  
Someone is screaming…

Sharp teeth in my arm.  
Pulling me, pulling me…

…

…  
What's this?

Bright lights.

There are people nearby.

An endless stream of voices and faces.  
I can hardly move my body.  
The smell of hospital food.  
The smell of hospital food.  
The smell of hosiptal food…  


When Yena returned to the Pokécenter, Nurse Joy immediately gestured her to come closer.  
With Zigzagoon still at her heels, she hurried towards the woman, who looked slightly shaken.

"I'm glad you're here. Your brother…"

"What happened?"

Nervously, Nurse Joy wiped some pink hair out of her eyes.

"I was bringing him lunch…"

She sighed and shook her head.

"I'm sorry. You're probably worried.  
It's just that he… He suddenly started panicking, and threw the whole plate of food through the room.  
I thought he was going to attack me, so I left. I was just about to send my Audino in there, to assist me in calming him down, but now that you're here…"

"It's okay, I'll go. Please wait here."

Feeling slightly apprehensive, Yena made her way to Alex' room, Zigzagoon following her as a shadow.  
She opened the door up a bit.

"Alex? It's me…"

When nothing happened, she stepped over the doorsill.  
By the trail of food, she could see the how the plate had flown through the room, scattering as it had hit the opposite wall.  
Zigzagoon hopped over to the bed in the room without hesitation.  
As the Pokémon jumped into his arms, Alex pulled its trusted friend close to his face.

Alex was sitting in the middle of the bed, the sheets thrown aside, and his hair even messier than usual.  
Yena studied him for a moment, then followed Zigzagoon, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

She waited patiently for the moment Alex had calmed down enough to talk to her.  
Zigzagoon had been licking his face, but then retreated to sit between his owner and Yena.

It took a couple of minutes before Alex looked up at Yena.

"Get me out of here, Yena."

She nodded, but then waited.  
Sensing he should at least explain the mess in the room, Alex hesitantly continued:

"I had this terrible nightmare…"

He rubbed his face with both hands.

"It was… It reminded me of…"

Eyeing the girl in front of him, he seemed to come to some sort of decision.  
Carefully thinking over every word, he told her:

"About two years ago..."

His hands scratched Zigzagoon's bristly while talking.

"A little over two years ago, even… I was in the hospital as well."

He stared at the food stains on the wall.

"Castelia City's hospital. It is said to be the best hospital in Unova.  
But I never want to go back there again.  
I was stuck in that place for months, before I ran away."

Zigzagoon rubbed his head against his owner's legs, and was rewarded by a small smile from Alex.  
He finally looked back at Yena.

"So when I woke up after that nightmare… the smell of the food was enough to…"

"You thought you were back there."

Alex nodded, and Yena got up.

"Nurse Joy is waiting outside. You scared her, Alex."

He sat up straight, a frustrated look on his face.

"I couldn't help it!"

"I know that. Why don't you apologize to her now?"

He sniffed and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, mom."

Happy to hear sarcasm back in his voice, Yena went to call Nurse Joy.

...

Alex closely studied his reflection in the bathroom's mirror.

"It's actually… not half bad."

Yena gave him a beaming smile as he opened the bathroom door, showing his new outfit.  
Zigzagoon barked, happy with the result.

The clothes Yena had brought back for him consisted of a dark blue sweater, that fell around his body quite loosely, and a pair of long, black pants.  
His worn-out, black sneakers were replaced by dark blue ones.

"The clothes look good on you, Alex. Aren't you feeling much better now?"

Alex walked back into the bathroom to look at his reflection again.

"Sure do. I can't wait to leave this place."

Yena had talked to Nurse Joy, explaining what had happened as the aftermath of a bad dream.  
Alex was much more lively now, so after a bit of persuading, Nurse Joy agreed on releasing Alex from the hospital earlier than planned, if he agreed to visit Nacrene City's Pokécenter as soon as they arrived there.

"And we will. It's not a bad deal, either. You'll be in and out of that Pokécenter in no time at all.  
They'll just check your blood pressure, reflexes and the your shoulder."

Alex turned off the bathroom light, and hurried to grab his old, black bag.

"That won't be a problem. There, I'm ready now. Where did you say you wanted to go?"

"The Trainer's School. I think I can learn a thing or two there."

Since he heard he was permitted to leave, Alex had been quite cheerful.

"Anywhere's fine by me. Let's go."


	10. Counterbalanced: 10

**Chapter 10 – Counterbalanced**

Alex leaned back, balancing his chair on two legs.  
He had started shifting and turning after the first five minutes of the Sit-In Class.

_"…and their moves are assigned certain types. Each type has several strengths and weaknesses in both attack and defense.  
In battle, you should use Pokémon and moves that have a type advantage over your opponent.  
Doing so will cause much more damage than normal..."_

Yena, who was trying her best to focus on what the teacher was saying, grabbed the back of Alex' chair without even looking, and put it back on four legs.

"You're going to make holes in the floor."

She whispered while scribbling down notes.

_"…the type of a move used by a Pokémon is strong against the opponent's type, then the damage done is twice the normal.  
If a move's type is weak against a specific type, then the damage done is half the normal damage done.."_

Alex leaned forward, glaring at the teacher, who was going on and on about type advantages.  
He hissed at Yena:

"I can't believe how boring this is.  
I know this stuff, about Pokémon types, but his way of explaining things just makes me feel confused.  
Why talk about doing 1.5 times more damage, when these students are still learning the basics?"

Yena shrugged, not wanting to interrupt the man in front of the blackboard.

Everyone was welcome to visit the Sit-In Classes.  
There was a schedule in the hall, listing the available classes.  
Because Yena was still struggling with Pokémon types, this had seemed like the most useful one.  
Unfortunately, today's teacher was so caught up in his own, advanced, monotone story, that he failed to notice that most students were struggling to keep up.

Alex covered Yena's notebook with his hand.

"Stop writing already. You're not going to remember any of this, even if you read those notes again later.  
We'll come back here when there's someone else in front of the class…"

He went quiet when he noticed the teacher was no longer talking.  
The man near the blackboard was staring at him, his eyebrows pulled together in a frown.

"Young man. If you insist on whispering in my class, it must mean you know more about type advantages than I do.  
Would you like to take over the class, or will you stay there and actually listen to what I'm saying?"

Most people would sit up, and stammer that they'd pay attention from that moment on.  
So the teacher looked downright shocked when Alex rose from his chair with a grin on his face, taking up the challenge.

"I'll accept that invitation, thank you."

He turned around to the rest of the students.

"I feel like we should look at the type advantages from the start."

He ignored Yena red head and her desperate attempts to pull him back in his chair, shamelessly walking up to the blackboard, picking up a piece of chalk.  
The teacher stepped back as Alex approached, baffled by the youth's impertinence.

With quick movements, Alex drew three very recognisable symbols on the blackboard – a flame, a leaf and a drop of water.  
Setting the pace high, he immediately started talking.

"I would say that this is a more appropriate start of the Type Advantage class.  
Some of you may have trouble remembering what type is good against what. It makes sense most of the time, though.  
If you can't remember, just use your common sense. Don't think of the complicated type charts that were just described to you."

He glared over at the teacher for a moment, then continued.

"Try to think about the outside world instead. A Fire-Pokémon fighting against a Water-Pokémon?  
The type-advantage is easily found when you remember that water is used to extinguish fire.  
The same goes with Fire versus Grass. Plants burn easily.  
But they use water to grow, so it's unwise to let your Water-Pokémon fight a Grass-type."

The students, most of them younger than Alex and Yena, were listening intently.  
One of them raised his hand. When Alex looked his way, he asked:

"What about other types? Electric-type Pokémon… or Steel?"

Alex nodded, and replied immediately.

"The same principles apply. Water conducts electricity extremely well, but the ground doesn't.  
Those are the basics of physics, and everyone here would do well to follow a couple of lessons in that, instead of sitting here.  
As for steel… Let's see… steel things can be manipulated when heated, yes? Just think about how swords are made.  
So it's bad news for Steel-Pokémon when they have to fight a Fire-Pokémon."

With resolute movements, Alex put down the chalk back in its box, and nodded once at the speechless teacher, then to the fascinated students.

"Thank you for your time. Let's go, Yena."

Yena hurried after him as he left the classroom, catching up to him right before he left the Trainers' School-building.  
She stopped him as they stepped into the sunlight.

"Alex! That's really not how you should treat a teacher…"

"Oh, come on! That man really had it coming! With all the knowledge he has, he's still plain stupid, giving a class like that.  
It's like teaching advanced math to preschoolers!"

His heated words came to an end as he saw Yena's expression.  
A smile had spread on her face, and her laugh ringed in his ears as she stated:

"It's impossible to have a quiet afternoon with you, did you know that?  
But without you, I'd still be in there, convinced I'd never get a grasp of type advantages.  
The things you said made much more sense."

"Of course it did… I don't think I'd last more than one week at a school like this."

"Like this? To what kind of school did you go?"

"I was homeschooled… Now hurry up and change the subject to anything but me."

Yena pointed at the other side of the street.

"Alright. How about this… They're selling ice cream over there.  
Can I bribe you into repeating your type advantage lecture for me?"

Alex grinned, clearly tempted.

"You can, but I only accept lime ice cream in exchange for my knowledge."

...

The sun was already setting when Alex jumped up against the fence.  
He routinely swung his right leg over to the other side, now sitting on top of the fence sideways.

He looked at the view for a moment, then reached down to pull up his bag, along with Yena's backpack.

"This place is perfect for camping."

He assured Yena, after carefully dropping their bags on the other side of the fence.  
He positioned himself so that he had a good grip on the fence, then grabbed Yena's hands, assisting her in climbing the iron fence around the Dreamyard.

It had been Yena's suggestion to put up camp somewhere around Striaton City, instead of staying at the Pokécenter or one of the hotels.  
Alex had agreed with the idea wholeheartedly, pleased that he could spend the night in open air.

As soon as Yena was sitting on top of the fence, Alex jumped down to the ground.  
When he turned around to help her down, she was still looking out over the ruins.

"It's really beautiful here. We should try to learn more about this place in the morning, Alex."

"Yeah, yeah. Now come on and jump off, or I might forget my manners and walk away."

The blue ribbon in her hair moved in the wind as she leaned forward, grabbing Alex' hands right before her feet touched the ground.  
She gestured at one of the crumbling walls.

"That looks like a nice place to prepare a meal. How about I cook the pasta we bought on the market?"

"Sounds good. But don't say that too loud, Zigzagoon might hear. He loves that stuff."

"Oh? The pasta itself or the sauce?"

"Don't mention the sauce...!"

A clicking sound came from Alex' bag, and a moment later, Zigzagoon appeared on the grass in a flash of light.  
The Pokémon danced towards them, sitting down at Yena's feet, looking up to her expectantly.

"There, you've done it. Now you'll have to feed him."

Yena laughed, surprised.

"Can Zigzagoon come out of his Pokéball on his own?"

Alex nodded, looking down at his Pokémon.

"He can, if it's about something he really loves."

She crouched down in front of the Pokémon.

"If you like pasta so much, you can have some."

Alex sighed dramatically.

"Fantastic. I've always wanted a fat Pokémon."

...

"So, are you planning on collecting badges?"

"Hmm."

"Don't you want to go to the Pokémon League? Defeat the champion?"

They were lying on their backs in the grass, gazing up at the starry sky.  
Alex scratched Zigzagoon's belly.  
The Pokémon had imitated them, rolling over and pretending to look up.  
Tauros was quietly grazing near the edge of the forest, and Oshawott had fallen asleep near Yena's legs.

"I don't know."

"So what are your plans for the future?"

Alex glanced aside.

"I'm not really the type that plans ahead."

Yena returned his look.

"Well, there's a gym in Striaton City. I'd love to get that badge.  
Maybe if I train Oshawott a little more…"

The Pokémon heard its name, and opened one of its eyes.  
She smiled at him.

"It's okay, go back to sleep…"

Oshawott rolled up in a ball, immediately returning to its slumbers.  
Yena continued:

"But we're here now anyway… You might as well give it a try."

"Hmmm."

"I thought you were so eager to earn your own money?"

Alex rolled over to his stomach, leaning on his elbows while looking at Yena.

"People get money when winning at the gym?"

Yena stared at the moon, pretending not to notice his sudden interest.

"Didn't you know? They're official battles.  
If you manage to defeat the gym leader, you don't just get a badge, but prize money as well.  
Striaton City's gym might not be the most difficult one to beat, so it's not like you'll be rich afterwards.  
But there are more gyms in Unova. And I'm not even talking about the Pokémon League yet."

Ignoring Zigzagoon's protests about the lack of belly scratching, Alex thought for a moment.

"I suppose I could try…"

He grabbed Zigzagoon as the Pokémon came closer to lick his face, quickly turning him over and tickling his stomach.  
Zigzagoon's uncontrolled laughing noises interrupted the conversation for a while.  
But when Alex had let go of the Pokémon, and Zigzagoon had rolled up to go to sleep next to Oshawott, he added:

"Things get easier when you have money."

Assuming he was talking to himself, more than to her, Yena looked for a comfortable sleeping position, eventually settling on her left side.  
She glimpsed at Alex. He was looking at the stars again, his hands folded behind his head.

"Good night, Alex."

"Hmm."

...

_Someone is talking nearby._

Can't move.  
So sleepy…

A door slams shut.  
Why can't I open … eyes?

Are … … open?  
It's so …

Where … …?  
… … dreaming?

… … … … smoke.  
… so …  
Wait.  
… light … … … … door.

… … …  
… Fire!

…

…

Something was wrong.  
Feeling confused and completely disoriented, Alex opened his eyes.

It was still in the middle of the night.  
His pounding heart told him he had been dreaming again, but no matter how he tried…  
His head felt tired as he tried to remember, but the nightmare refused to come back to him.

His slow thoughts were interrupted by a movement in the corner of his eyes.

Sitting up fast, Alex tried his best to shake off the last bit of drowsiness as he stared at the wild Pokémon that surrounded him.  
There were four, round Pokémon hovering on his four sides, staring at him with their oval, red eyes.  
Their pink bodies were decorated with purple floral patterns.

As Alex opened his mouth to chase them off, the four of them began to emit a dark, purple mist.  
To his shock, the smoke immediately enveloped him, the rest of the Dreamyard disappearing from sight.  
He tried to stay calm, getting to his feet.

But his heart seemed to stand still as a room formed around him.

Electric equipment and cardboard boxes were stacked up against the walls, the only source of light coming from the small window to his right.  
He knew this place so well. He slowly turned his head towards the door on his left side, dreading what he would find.

When the door flew open, panic took a hold of him.  
Flames were coming into the room, immediately setting the first cardboard boxes on fire.

"…N-No…!_ Zigzagoon_!"

He coughed as the mysterious mist tickled his throat… or was it smoke?

The distant sound of hooves seemed out of place as the fire advanced into the room.  
Alex backed away, terrified.

He wanted to turn around to the window, knowing it would be difficult to squeeze through…  
But he had to try…  
Screams rang in his ears…  
Try to get out…

He was suddenly interrupted by Tauros, effortlessly running through one of the walls.  
The next moment, a jet of water flew past him, and through the flames, causing the Pokémon on the other side of the mist to squeal.  
The room around him seemed to dissolve into darkness, leaving just the mist.

And there was Zigzagoon, running up to him, jumping into his arms.  
Alex held the Pokémon close, wondering how everything had gone so quiet, until he realised he had been the one screaming until now.

On the other side of the purple smoke, he could hear Yena shout commands at Oshawott, and Tauros cry out furiously as he rampaged through the mist again, passing by Alex in a flash.

Slowly but surely, the purple mist lifted, and silence returned to the Dreamyard.  
There were no pink, floating Pokémon anywhere in sight.

Yena came up to him immediately, reaching out and wiping his face with her hands, assisted by Zigzagoon, who licked his chin.  
So far, Alex hadn't noticed the tears running down his cheeks, and for a while, he was too shocked to resist their touch.

The mooing sound of Tauros behind him brought him back to reality.  
The large, bovine Pokémon sniffed him, then stuck out his tongue, licking the complete left side of his face.

Finally, Alex stepped away, and let go of Zigzagoon, who jumped down to the ground.  
His voice was shaky.

"Ugh. T-That's disgusting, Tauros."

He used the sleeves of his new sweater to dry his face, trying not to let his hands tremble too much.

"What h-happened…?"

The voice of Yena's Pokédex told him:

_"Munna, the Dream Eater Pokémon. It always floats in the air.  
Munna can eat the dreams of people and Pokémon alike, then project those dreams by emitting Dream Mist from his body._  
_People whose dreams are eaten by them forget what the dreams had been about."_

"Those… _things_… They ate my dream?"

Yena nodded.

"Your dream must've been powerful enough to attract four of them.  
I think the purple smoke was the Dream Mist."

She studied his face.

"Something horrible has happened to you, Alex.  
How did you get out of that situation when it happened for real…?"

"You saw everything…?"

"It was like… looking through a really dirty window.  
I didn't know what to do, but Tauros hit one, so I let Oshawott attack another Munna…  
…It seems to have helped."

Alex looked up, hoping to see the stars, but clouds blocked his view.

"If you don't mind… I don't really want to talk about it anymore."

"I understand... Maybe some other time?"

"…Maybe."

Yena turned around, calmly walking across the grass, and picking up something from the ground.  
When she returned, she showed the item to him.

There was a Pokéball in her hand.

Alex stared at it for a moment.

"You… You caught one of them?"

Her blue eyes looked into his.

"I did… But I promise…  
This Munna will not project your nightmares again."

"It better not…"

Alex shook his head in disbelief.

"Here I was, thinking you'd never catch a second Pokémon..."

He looked around.

"I'm not going back to sleep anywhere around this place. Let's go back to Route 2."


	11. Counterbalanced: 11

**Chapter 11 – Counterbalanced**

Sweat ran down to Yena's chin, but even as the Pokémon battle in front of her seemed to be at a halt,  
she didn't take the time to wipe off her forehead or take a sip of water.

She looked at her two Pokémon on the small, open field. Oshawott was obviously tired, panting as he tried to keep an eye on his surroundings.  
Munna was hovering just above the grass, slowly floating around in a circle.

Yena had spent a lot of time with her newest Pokémon in the past few days, hoping to form the start of a bond.  
She had discovered Munna was a very calm and quiet one, but she seemed to appreciate the extra attention that was given to her.

The round, pink Pokémon suddenly stopped going around in circles, turning to the right like a compass.  
Yena could hear her light voice as she seemed to say something to Oshawott.

"_Mu-muuu…_"

Oshawott looked in the same direction, just in time to see Tauros break through the cover of the trees, running towards them.

Yena could see this as well, but trusted her Pokémon to dodge Tauros' attack by themselves.  
She scanned the trees around the open field while Munna swirled away from Tauros effortlessly, and Oshawott jumped aside with a little more difficulty, barely avoiding the stomping hooves.

Tauros disappeared between the trees on the other side of the field, but Yena knew this had been a distraction…  
She may have fallen for this a couple of days ago, but now…

There! Quite close to Munna! There was some movement near the trees!

"Munna! Go the other way!"

Just in time, Munna hovered back as Zigzagoon leaped towards her.

"Oshawott, Water Gun!"

Her water-Pokémon breathed in deep, and sent a jet of water flying towards Zigzagoon.  
Yena could hear Alex' whistled commands in the distance – the varied tones flew across the grass, and Yena wished, once again, that she could understand the communication between trainer and Pokémon.

Zigzagoon jumped aside in time to dodge the water.

"Munna! Psywave!"

The Psychic Pokémon seemed to glow, right before a ring of light was fired off.  
Zigzagoon was a light-footed Pokémon, but the quick succession of attacks was a little too much:  
The Pokémon was blown back, flying through the trees until he hit one of the trunks.

"Well done, Munna!"

Yena raised her hand in the air, waving to where she thought Alex was hiding.

"Alex! Is Zigzagoon alright? Let's take a break, okay?"

It took a moment before she got a response, but Alex appeared from the trees after a couple of minutes, quickly followed by Zigzagoon.  
The Pokémon's coat looked a little more ragged than usual, but he didn't seem to be hurt badly.

Alex didn't seem to be affected by the sun too much, his face pale as ever.

"That last combo was a good one."

He looked to his right for a moment when Tauros appeared.

"Thanks, Tauros. You did good. Take a few minutes to catch your breath."

Tauros bowed its head, then trotted away to graze.

Yena interrupted the process of splashing water in her face.

"A few minutes, Alex? That's harsh.  
Didn't you see how tired Oshawott was?"

Alex threw a look over his shoulder at Oshawott, but quickly backed away as he discovered Munna, hovering only inches from his face.

"Gah! Stop that already!"

The Pokémon's face barely showed any emotion, but she refused to take her eyes from his face.  
Feeling annoyed and creeped out, Alex gestured at Yena.

"Call her back, before I let Zigzagoon attack for real. That thing won't leave me alone."

Yena placed herself between Alex and Munna, offering the Pokémon some tasty treats.  
Her Munna had turned out to have quite a sweet tooth, so she was easily distracted by some of the Pecha Berries they had found in the forest earlier that day.

"I would look at you like that as well, if you referred to me as 'that thing'...  
Give her a break, Alex."

"Give _her_ a break…? She's the one hanging around me all the ti-…"

He abruptly stopped talking when Zigzagoon barked once and growled softly.  
Alex turned his head, peering through the trees.

"Someone's there."

...

The young man frowned as stepped from between the trees, eyeing the snarling Pokémon at Alex' feet.

"Are you sure your Pokémon is trained well? He's growling like a wild Pokémon."

Alex cold glare was merciless.

"You spy on us, and you insult my Pokémon as soon as you're discovered?  
Zigzagoon obeys me without question, and I will not hesitate to let him bite you if you're going to be like that…"

"Spying? I was simply observing your training…"

The immediate tension between the two was interrupted by a surprised laugh from Yena.

"Quinn…? Wow, is that really you?"

Both Oshawott and Yena rushed past Alex, happily greeting the newcomer.

"Hello, Yena! Hey, Oshawott! It's really been too long."

He spread his arms, hugging the blond girl.  
She then took a step back to take a better look at him.

"It really has been, yeah! I can't believe how long your hair has gotten!"

"I know! And look at you…! You look amazing! I couldn't resist paying you a visit after speaking to Professor Juniper.  
She told me you were in Striaton City."

Quinn was a tall, athletic, good-looking young man.  
His dark brown, curly hair was hanging in his eyes, and on the sides of his face.  
The short sleeves on his red shirt revealed tanned arms.  
His brown eyes were now observing Alex again.

"But you sure picked a strange training partner…"

Alex' eyes were even darker than Quinn's, and currently displaying his barely contained anger.

"Stop picking a fight with me already!"

Quinn opened his mouth to give another reply, but Yena stopped him, giving dark looks to both him and Alex.

"Children, behave. You guys don't even know eachother yet."

She gestured at Zigzagoon, who was still flat on the ground, ready to pounce.

"You too. Relax already. Quinn is a childhood friend of mine."

Her eyes went to Alex.

"And Quinn, this is Alex. He knows the way to CasteliaCity, and I've learned a lot since I'm travelling with him.  
Now be nice, you two."

Quinn was the first time to break the silence that followed.  
He stepped forward, stretching out his hand towards Alex, closely observed by Zigzagoon.

"Maybe we got off to a wrong start. I actually watched you train, and you seem to be quite skilled."

Alex hesitated, clearly unwilling to have anything to do with Quinn.  
With one last look at Yena, who folded her arms, he slowly accepted Quinn's stretched out hand, shaking it once before letting it go, not saying a word.

Feeling better after seeing the two shake hands, Yena grabbed Quinn's arm.

"How's Tepig doing? Do you have him with you? He got along with Oshawott so well!"

Quinn smiled at her.

"I think he'd like to see Oshawott again."

He removed one of the three Pokéballs attached to his belt.

"He's gotten quite a bit stronger…"

As his Pokémon appeared in front of them in a flash, Yena couldn't hide her surprise.

"Wow… Quinn! That's amazing! When did Tepig evolve?"

Pignite was considerably larger than the other small Pokémon around him, towering over Oshawott and Zigzagoon.  
The Fire-Pokémon's small tusks were clearly visible when it grinned at Oshawott.

Oshawott got over its surprise quite quickly, jumping around Pignite, studying its new appearance, and chatting to its old friend in its own language.  
Zigzagoon on the other hand, quietly sat down at Alex's feet, keeping a close eye on Pignite as well as its owner.

Quinn proudly watched his own Pokémon.

"Doesn't he look cool? He can do a lot of Fighting-type attacks now, as well."

He got out a little box, and opened it, showing the content to Yena.

"And he evolved at a perfect time, too. Right when I was fighting Nacrene City's gym leader…  
You should have seen it, Yena."

Awestuck, Yena stared at the two badges displayed in the box.

"You have two badges already? That's incredible, Quinn! You should tell me all about it, especially about Striaton City's gym!  
Alex and I have been preparing for our challenge there."

"Is that right? Then I have a great idea…  
How about we go to Striaton City right now, and have lunch?  
I know the perfect place."

He glanced over at Alex.

"Of course, if you feel like it, you're free to join us."

Alex frowned, looking disgusted.

"No way."

Quinn shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Let's go, Yena."

He offered his arm to Yena, who took it after a short hesitation.  
With Oshawott and Pignite close behind them, the two started to make their way to the main road.

Alex turned around, wanting to stomp off in another direction.  
He froze when he bumped right into Munna, hovering near his head.

"Argh…! _You…!_ Go after them already, don't stay with me!"

After giving the pink Pokémon a decisive push after her owner, Alex put his hands in the pockets of his new pair of pants, looking over the open field where they had been training.

...

"I had no idea this was possible, Quinn…!"

"You should really take a look inside a gym before challenging it, Yena. It gives you an impression of what you're up against.  
This gym is an enjoyable place to spend time in, too."

Quinn looked up at the waiter standing next to their table.  
The red-haired man gave them a polite smile.

"Can I help you with anything…? Maybe some refreshments, or something to eat?"

Yena looked at the menu in front of her.

"It all looks so good… But I think I'll have the egg and ham sandwich, please.  
And maybe a glass of milk?"

The waiter nodded, scribbling down her order in his little notebook.

"And I'll have the same omelet I had last time I ate here… the one with the onions…?"

"Our onion omelet, yes? Will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you."

Quinn leaned closer to Yena when the waiter walked away to pass on their orders.

"Tell me this, Yena… Did you know that man is one of the gym leaders here?"

Yena quickly looked over her shoulder, just in time to see the red-haired man walk into the kitchen.

"What? Really…?"

"It's true. You can observe your upcoming opponent right here, while he brings us lunch."

He thought for a moment.

"His name is Chili. But he's not the one you'll be fighting.  
Because your first Pokémon is Oshawott, you'll have to face Cilan, who has a Grass-type Pokémon.  
I fought Cress with my Tepig, back then."

Yena's eyes were wide open.

"I'm glad you told me about this, Quinn. I had no idea… Then who will Alex fight?"

He shrugged.

"No idea. I think they'll flip a coin to decide who will take the challenge, or something…"

Quinn pulled up his shoulders again.

"But… let's talk about more interesting things, shall we?"

...

The sun had almost set when Yena returned to Route 2.  
It was awfully quiet on the small open field.

"Alex…?"

She tried to look through the trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of movement.  
A chill ran down her spine when a thought occurred to her:

Alex had always made very clear he'd be perfectly fine without her...  
Would he move on towards Nacrene City, or to wherever he was heading, while she was having lunch in the Striaton City's gym?

Suddenly feeling lost without her travelling companion, she called out again.

"Alex, are you there…?"

She jumped when his voice sounded from above her.

"Of course."

Alex was sitting on a branch in a nearby tree, staring down at her with a cold look.  
Yena sighed, and smiled, hoping to improve his mood.

"I'm so silly, Alex. For a second, I thought you had travelled on without me."

His expression didn't change.

"That's not a silly thought. I almost did it."

Yena tilted her head, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm glad you didn't. I want to train more, and challenge the gym together, Alex.  
…Are you mad because I went with Quinn, just because you don't like him?  
Can't two friends catch up over lunch?"

She stepped back as Alex dropped from the tree, slightly bending his knees as his feet touched the ground.

"Yeah, right… I don't trust that guy."

Yena surprised him by stretching out her arm, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"It's nice of you to be worried about me, Alex. But there's no need to do so."

When Alex shook off her hand, she turned around, quickly grabbing something from her bag.

"Oh, I have a little something for you, from when Quinn showed me some shops this afternoon."

The package she handed to him was wrapped in red paper, decorated by a blue ribbon.  
She grinned as he opened it up.

"I bought one for myself, as well."

There was a brand-new box inside the package.  
The upper half was yellow, the lower half was black.  
As he opened it up, he saw the inside was cushioned, with eight open shapes in it.

"This is…"

"Your own badge case. Doesn't it match your yellow Pokédex nicely? I have a red one, myself."

He finally returned her smile with a grin.

"Now I'll have to challenge that gym, just to fill this up."

"That's right. There's no escaping it now."

"You know you'll have to train much harder tomorrow, right?  
You might have escaped with that Don Juan today, but let's not make it a habit."

Yena laughed.

"Quinn was a real gentleman today, Alex. No seductive moves made."

"…Whatever."


	12. Counterbalanced: 12

**Chapter 12 – Counterbalanced**

"I just don't understand why _he_ has to come with us."

"Quinn just wants to see how much stronger I've become since I left Nuvema Town, Alex.  
I really don't see what's wrong with that."

"Don't expect me to chitchat with the dude."

"I expect you to be on your best behavior."

"… I wonder what makes you think I'm actually capable of good manners?"

"Just focus on the gym battle, Alex. Look, I can see the gym over there."

...

Quinn was waiting for them in front of the gym, casually leaning against one of the building's impressive pillars.  
He smiled at Yena, and hugged her again, completely ignoring Alex.

"It's good to see you again. Are you nervous?"

Yena shook her head, stepping back.

"No, not so much. I'm actually looking forward to it, it'll be exciting."

She looked at Alex, redirecting Quinn's attention to her companion.

"I think both of my Pokémon have gotten quite a bit stronger since I started training with Alex."

Quinn gave Alex a quick nod, which was reluctantly returned with an even smaller one.  
Yena gestured at the massive, open doors in front of them.

"Let's go inside, okay?"

...

"Ah yes, challengers! And two of them!  
We haven't had any of those this week, so this will be good!"

The blue-haired gym leader Cress, dressed in the restaurant's waiter clothes, was beaming as he welcomed them.

"And I remember you!"

He happily shook Quinn's hand.

"I learned a lot from our battle. Of course you're welcome to observe your friends' battles."

He pointed at the back of the café.

"I'll give my brothers a call, and they'll open up the entrance to the battleground from the other side.  
If I may ask, what Pokémon did you start out with?"

It was easy for Yena to return his enthusiastic smile.

"Thank you! And my first Pokémon is an Oshawott."

Cress nodded.

"Then you'll be facing Cilan."

He turned to Alex, who was impatiently waiting at Yena's side.  
Before the gym leader could ask anything, he stated:

"I don't have an official starter Pokémon, but I'll be challenging one of you with my Zigzagoon."

Cress got out a cell phone from one of his pockets.

"That'll be fine. My other brother, Chili, is available for battling.  
As much as I'd like to join you guys, to battle or observe you, I have my duties here at the restaurant."

He pushed a couple of buttons on his phone, and held it against his ear.  
While he was waiting for his brothers to pick up the phone, he held out his hand.

"I'll be needing some form of identification, just to make these gym battles official, and to register the result."

Both Yena and Alex quickly got out their Pokédexes, handing it over to Cress.  
The blue-haired man bowed, and walked over to the restaurant's main desk to fill out the necessary forms.  
He soon got a hold of one of the other gym leaders, and after a couple of minutes, the wall in the back of the café opened up, revealing a passageway.

Cress returned the two Pokédexes to their owners, giving another bow.

"I wish you two the best of luck with your battles."

He nodded at Alex.

"You will be up first. Chili is really looking forward to a challenge."

For Yena and Quinn, he gestured at the passageway, then to the right.

"There are some stairs on the right when you pass through there. It leads to the spectators' area.  
You may watch the battle from up there."

...

Alex could hear Yena cheer for him as he took his place on one side of the rocky battleground.  
She was leaning over the balustrade, and waving at him.

"You'll do great, Alex!"

He hadn't felt so nervous in a while.  
He clenched his fists, and relaxed them again, trying to get rid of some anxiety.  
He quietly observed his opponent on the other side of the terrain.  
Chili had bright red hair, that waved around like flames when he moved his head.

Alex breathed in deep, resenting battling Fire-type Pokémon, and wished he could fight Cress or Cilan instead.  
In different circumstances, he would probably have objected to this outcome, and convince Yena that they should come back on a different day so he could fight one of the other gym leaders.

The presence of Quinn had stopped him. A tingle ran down his spine, and he glanced up at the spectators' area.  
Dark brown curls were hanging from the sides of Quinn's face as he was looking down at Alex.

Yena and Quinn were banned to the back of his mind when Chili spoke up:

"Welcome to the Striaton City Pokémon Gym. My name is Chili, and I'll be your opponent today."

The man grinned, clearly excited about the upcoming battle.  
He held out his left arm, pointing at the side of the battlefield.  
Cilan, Striaton City's third gym leader, was looking back and forth between them.

"My brother Cilan will be our referee.  
Don't worry, I can assure you that we're professionals, and he will strictly follow the rules set by the Pokémon League officials.  
It's good to see you brought some friends along, being observed helps us to play fair."

Cilan's bright green hair was short, with the exception of some longer strands of hair standing up at the edge of his hairline.  
He raised his hand, to get everyone's attention.

"This is an official gym battle between the gym leader Chili and the challenger, Alex Zenouveau.  
Upon winning, the challenger will receive the Trio Badge, along with 1680 Pokédollars.  
You will each use one Pokémon. The battle will be over when one of the Pokémon is unable to continue fighting, or when one of the trainers gives up.  
If these rules are clear, the battle may commence!"

...

As soon as Cilan had started talking, Quinn looked at Yena.

"Alex… Zenouveau?"

Surprised by the unexpected and complicated situation, Yena glanced down at Alex, just in time to catch a glimpse of the 'I told you he'd be trouble'-look he was giving her.  
Yena tried to smile at Quinn as if his words hadn't caught her off-guard.

He was studying her face closely.

"If Alex is really related to you by blood, then I'm the new champion of Unova.  
What's going on, Yena?"

She should've thought about questions like these. What to reply, how to act…  
Blood rushed to Yena's face.

"Alex is… my adoptive brother."

Quinn's eyebrows went up.

"Ah. So your parents adopted Alex as their son since I left Nuvema Town a couple of months ago?"

"It's…"

Yena couldn't see a way out, and felt quite threatened by his way of questioning her.

"It's… It's really complicated, Quinn. Let's not talk about this now. Alex' battle is starting."

She nodded towards the battlegrounds, where Zigzagoon had just appeared in front of Alex.

Alex was saying something to his Pokémon, but Yena couldn't quite focus on what was happening, still flustered by Quinn's questions.  
She could feel how Quinn was still watching her, before he finally directed his attention to the battle taking place below.

...

"I'm counting on you to give it your best, Zigzagoon."

Zigzagoon barked once, with great determination.  
The Pokémon followed Chili's Pokéball with its eyes as it flew through the air, and opened with a flash.

As Chili's Pokémon appeared on the rocky battlefield, Cilan waved with his arm again.

"Trainers and Pokémon! Get ready! The battle for the Trio Badge starts… now!"

Chili's Pokémon jumped across the battlefield, the tuft on its head wobbling as it moved.  
The colors of its fur varied from bright red to yellow, clearly showing off which type of Pokémon he was.

The Pokédex in Alex' hand told him:

_"Pansear, the High Temp Pokémon.  
When it is angered, the temperature of its head tuft reaches 600º F.  
It uses its tuft to roast berries."_

Alex rolled his eyes. The Pokédex proved to be no real help.  
He put the device in his pocket, while keeping a close eye on the primate-like Pokémon.

It was clearly trying to get some kind of response from Zigzagoon by jumping back and forth, maybe to find out what kind of attacks this challenger had up his sleeve.  
But Zigzagoon was standing perfectly still, until he would receive his first command.

"Pay attention, Zigzagoon!"

As he had done with his battle against Professor Juniper, he brought the thumb and index finger of his right hand to his mouth, ready to direct Zigzagoon in its attacks.  
This system between him and his Pokémon had been practised and perfected, and was useful in battles like this.

Chili, on the other side of the battlefield, looked confused as the first whistled notes ringed across the rocks.  
He yelled a warning at Pansear when Zigzagoon immediately responded by jumping forward, its fangs clearly visible in its open mouth.  
The primate made a backflip, avoiding Zigzagoon's jaws that snapped shut.

"I see. That's a clever command system you have there. I won't be able to see the attacks coming until they actually happen.  
Looks like I'll have to try a little harder… Pansear! Use your Flamethrower attack!"

Alex almost forgot to breathe when Pansear fired a powerful blast of scorching flames towards his Pokémon.  
He froze for a moment, staring at the fire, but the pure necessity of his commands for Zigzagoon sped up his thoughts.  
Alex gasped for air, quickly producing a loud whistle, that went from high to low.

In the red light of the approaching fire, he could see Zigzagoon's paws moving fast as he dug his way into the ground.  
The next moment, the fire roared across the battlefield, blocking any view he had on Zigzagoon.

Alex stared into the flames, anxiously waiting for the attack to end.  
When Pansear closed his mouth, a hole in the scorched ground was revealed, in the middle of the rocky terrain.

Chili wasted no time.

"He may have dodged that move, Pansear… But show him what you can do underground!  
Use your Dig attack as well!"

Pansear's hands were very suitable for digging – aside from a thumb on each hand, he didn't have any separate fingers, making his hands almost like spades.  
Large amounts of dirt flew through the air as he started to make his way through the earth.

...

Yena was tightly holding onto the iron railing in front of her.

She could see how Alex hesitated in his battle against Chili, how he was thrown off by the element he was fighting.  
She had personally not foreseen the possibility of the gym leader's Pokémon knowing how to dig, and judging by the pause in Alex' commands, neither had he.

There was not much to be seen on the battlefield now, except for the holes the two Pokémon had disappeared into.  
The strange silence was finally broken by some whistled commands from Alex, even if they didn't sound as confident as before.  
Some crumbling rocks on the ground revealed the presence of a Pokémon right below the earth's surface from time to time, but there was no indication that the two had found eachother yet.

Yena gasped as there was an sudden outburst of growling and squealing underground, clearly audible through the holes in the earth.  
Immediately, four loud, short whistles rang across the field. Alex paused, then nervously proceeded to give a two-tone command.

The struggle that took place must've been intense, because the high cries that came from the holes in the ground were occassionally displaying pain.  
Alex' gaze was set on the rocky earth between him and Chili, his unused hand clenched in a fist.

Chili stated:

"This has taken long enough. It's time to end this.  
Pansear, smoke out that Zigzagoon to the surface by using your Flamethrower!"

A moment of silence passed, and Chili's words started to sink in.

The thought of Zigzagoon being caught in the flames underground was too much.  
Panicked, and losing control of the situation, Alex forgot to whistle, and yelled instead:

"Get out of there, Zigzagoon! _Now!_"

On the left of the battlefield, near Cilan, the ground began to crumble.  
The second Zigzagoon came flying out of the ground, the inside of the holes were filled with a bright orange light, and a moment later, three pillars of fire rose up from the ground.

Zigzagoon landed on the ground with an inelegant thud, looking quite ragged.  
He seemed to be missing some hair from its tail.

The Pokémon shook its body, getting rid of dirt on its coat.

Then there was silence.

With a shock, Alex found himself in the same situation as he had placed Professor Juniper in, a couple of weeks ago.  
Pansear was nowhere to be seen or heard, so there was no telling where the Fire-Pokémon might pop up.

"Just… keep your eyes and ears open, Zigzagoon."

Chili seemed to recognise Alex' nervousness, and prolonged the tension by waiting to give his next command.  
After a moment, he yelled across the battlefield:

"Pansear! Give it your best shot! Come out of the ground using your Flamethrower!"

Alex' mind was racing – what to do?  
Another Dig attack?

…No. That would result in the same situation all over again.  
Plus, Zigzagoon was weakened, and Pansear might still be perfectly fine.

The ground started to shake, announcing Pansear's attack.

Alex stared at his Pokémon on the battlefield, awaiting his command, and felt his mind go blank.

What to do? What to do? What to-…

_"Get yourself together already!"_

Quinn's loud voice hit him like an arrow.

In a reflex, Alex' index finger and thumb were back near his mouth.

When the ground finally opened, and a beam of fire shot out of it, Zigzagoon was already on the move, directed by a series of tones.  
Pansear's Flamethrower attack never hit its target, and when the Fire Pokémon appeared from the scarred ground, Alex could clearly see the damage Zigzagoon had done to Pansear earlier. Alex' Pokémon had obviously been on the upper hand under the ground, biting his opponent wherever he could. The biting marks were bleeding badly, and Chili's Pokémon was in pain.

The red-haired gym leader saw this as well.

"Hang on, Pansear. Try another Flamethro-…"

There was no mercy from Alex. Before even giving Chili the chance to tell Pansear what to do, Zigzagoon had tackled the Fire Pokémon.  
Pansear responded to this on its own, screeching and biting.  
Growling and wrestling, the Pokémon rolled around for a while, until Zigzagoon got a hold of Pansear's throat.  
Whenever its opponent would struggle now, Zigzagoon tightened its grip on him.  
Soon, Pansear lay perfectly still, not wanting to suffocate.

Alex looked at the green-haired referee on the side of the battlefield, the adrenaline still rushing through his body.  
Cilan saw his glance, studied the situation again, and nodded. His right hand went up, in Alex' direction.

"Pansear is unable to continue this fight! I hereby declare Alex Zenouveau to be the winner of this battle!  
He has officially earned the Trio Badge, along with 1680 Pokédollars. Congratulations!"

...

Loudly cheering, Yena prepared to leave the spectators' area, both to congratulate Alex and to take her place on one side of the battlefield.  
Yet she was stopped by Quinn, who lightly grabbed her arm.

"Yena, please listen… Is that guy dragging you into trouble?  
I know the way to Castelia City as well, why don't you let me be your guide?  
There's something about him that's just… off.  
And I'm not even talking about him suddenly being related to you…"

Yena shook him off, feeling somewhat irritated.

"That's very considerate of you, Quinn, to worry about me like that.  
But I'm going to have my gym battle now, so if you'll excuse me…"

She hurried down the stairs, leaving him alone in the spectator's area.


	13. Counterbalanced: 13

**Chapter 13 – Counterbalanced**

Yena's battle had started, and things were happening on the battlefield below.  
But the two young men that were supposed to be watching, were only pretending to look down.  
Their knuckles white from holding on to the iron railing too tight, the tension between Alex and Quinn had reached a new peak, as soon as Alex had taken his place in the spectators' area.

No word had been exchanged, and the long silence did not make the situation any easier.

"You."

Quinn had spoken up, and Alex lifted his head to look at him, not saying a word.

"I'll just be honest with you."

Quinn was frowning, staring at the battle taking place below.

"To me, you're an extremely shady character. A piece of scum, if you ask me.  
I don't trust you. At all. Your story doesn't add up.  
But Yena seems to be fond of you."

He paused, maybe to give Alex the opportunity to reply, but nothing happened.

Quinn continued:

"So that's why I'll just keep a very close eye on you."

Silence.

Both of them stared down at Yena's battle, without really looking.

"I hear your threat."

Alex didn't seem to be very impressed.

"And I return it to you. Whatever your plans are with Yena, you'll have to be really careful.  
I think of you as unreliable and arrogant. You say you're worried about Yena, but I would never harm her."

"You may say that… but if I see you do one thing… _one thing_… that even hints at danger…"

"…Then what?"

Quinn raised his fist.

"I'll beat you up so bad."

Alex snorted.

"Ha. I'd like to see you try."

Quinn crossed the distance between them within a second, grabbing Alex' sweater near his throat.  
Alex eyes widened, surprised by Quinn actually acting out his threat.

He had to stand on his toes to prevent his sweater from ripping, as he was pulled towards Quinn.

"Let go of me."

Alex hissed, twisting in Quinn's grip.

"Then promise me you'll leave Yena alone."

"No. Yena and I have an agreement."

"Forget about that. Now promise me."

Quinn shook Alex around, and lifting him even higher.

But he cried out in pain as Alex fiercely kicked against his leg, and let go of Alex' sweater when a well-aimed fist landed on his stomach.  
Alex stumbled back, quickly pulling his sweater back down.

When he saw the rage in Quinn's eyes, he backed away even further.

"Don't…"

But the air was knocked out of his lungs when Quinn stormed forward, and tackled him.  
Alex gasped as he landed on his back, and Quinn's full weight pressed down on him.

Quinn was heavier, and stronger, but Alex pushed and turned, trying to get away.  
Alex' struggles to escape came to an abrupt end as Quinn hit him in the stomach.  
He doubled over, hardly able to breathe.

Quinn's voice sounded near his ear.

"Not so tough now, are you? You're all bark, but no bite. That's good to know. Next ti-…"

The words that were undoubtably going to be threatening, were interrupted by a jet of cold water, pushing Quinn back and soaking both men to the skin.  
Yena was standing at the entrance of the spectator's area, Oshawott at her feet.  
Her face was red, and she looked ready to cry.

"_You two…!_ Cut it out!"

She wildly gestured at them.

"I can't believe you're fighting!"

Quinn got to his feet, his hand going through his wet hair.

"Yena…"

She gave him no chance to talk.

"No! I bet you don't even know how the battle ended!"

Chili and Cilan appeared behind her, looking at the scene with frowns on their faces.

"Well, let me tell you…! I just earned my first badge, and both of you missed it! Well done!"

Alex, still on the ground, coughed.  
He had now regained some of his breath, and was slowly getting up.

Tears were running down Yena's face.

"I never expected this of you. Maybe… Maybe we should just leave. Alex, can you stand? Let's go."

She didn't stand around to await the answer to her question, but turned on her heels and followed the two gym leaders outside.  
Alex coughed again, and after casting a dirty look at Quinn, he walked down the stairs as well, leaving a trail of wet footsteps.

...

Later that day, Yena was lying on her back in the grass, with Munna hanging around nearby.  
She held out her shiny new badge against the light of the sun, studying its silhouette.  
It's shape was divided into three, symbolizing the gym's three types.

Yena rolled over to her stomach, grabbing her red badge case, and returning the Trio Badge to it.

When Alex appeared from between the trees, she only looked up for a second.  
He had visited Striaton City's Pokécenter with Zigzagoon and Oshawott, giving them both some time to cool off.  
She could tell by the way he approached her, that he was feeling unsure about how to handle the situation.

He sat down next to her, and scraped his throat.

"Here's Oshawott back."

He placed the Pokéball on the grass.

When she nodded, he hesitated.

"Yena, I'm not good at this stuff…"

She pushed the button on Oshawott's Pokéball, and watched her Pokémon appear on the grass.

"What stuff?"

Alex shifted uncomfortably.

"I suppose I wanted… I shouldn't have… Well, I never went up there to fight with Quinn.  
I was going to watch your battle, but the guy threatened me! Should I let him do as he pleases…?  
He was the one that started…"

He paused, thinking over his words.

"That… really didn't come out the way I wanted… I suppose what matters is…  
I did taunt him, and I shouldn't have done that."

Encouraged by the fact that Yena was now looking at him again, he nodded at the badge case in front of her.

"I'm sorry for missing your battle. How did you win so fast? I think it took you less than ten minutes."

He looked puzzled as Yena spread her arms. She smiled.

"I accept your apology. You guys scared me… What if one of you got hurt?  
…I could use a hug right now."

When he hesitated, she added:

"Oh come on. It's what people do when they forgive and forget."

"I usually don't…"

He started, but changed his mind.  
Hoping to quickly get it over with, he placed one hand on her back.  
But before he could lean back again, she had wrapped her arms around him, pulling him much closer.

Yena sighed as they let go, finally feeling better again.  
She could feel how Alex had resisted pushing her away, eventually relaxing, and now she noted the same expression on his face as when Professor Juniper had said goodbye to them in Accumula Town.

She gently smiled at him.

"Even the toughest people need a hug sometimes."

Alex looked away, and sniffed once.

"…I suppose they do."

He glanced at her face from the corner of his eyes.

"So… are we okay again?"

"Yes."

"Will you ever tell me about your gym battle?"

"I don't know… What part would you like to hear?  
The bit where Oshawott drove Pansage out of the ground by filling the holes with water, or where he nearly cut off the sprout on Pansage's head with his shell?"

"What…! You're just making that up."

She laughed, a sound that cheered him up immensely.

"It happened like this…"


	14. Counterbalanced: 14

**Chapter 14 – Counterbalanced**

She couldn't remember a moment where Alex had looked happier.

In the single moment where Tauros sprinted past her, she could clearly see his delighted expression as he leaned forward on the back of his Pokémon.  
Alex' hands were clawing into Tauros' manes, his legs held close to his Pokémon's sides and his body moving along with the bull's gallop.  
With the wind going through his hair, and a grin on his face, he looked nothing like the skittish young man she had met behind Professor Juniper's lab.

In an almost scary speed, Tauros raced along Route 3, quickly disappearing out of sight as trainer and Pokémon followed the winding path.  
Yena could still hear Tauros' hooves for a while, but eventually even that sound died away.  
She looked down at Oshawott, who was happily following her, clearly enjoying the pleasant warmth of the sun.  
As their eyes crossed, her Pokémon grinned. She smiled back at him, before turning her attention to Munna, hovering nearby.  
The pink Pokémon hadn't left her side since they left Striaton City, but was acting almost as a compass, always looking in Alex' direction, even now that he was nowhere to be seen. Yena had a couple of theories about why Munna was so interested in Alex, and most of them involved Alex' intense nightmares.

"Munna… I have a question for you."

_"Mu-Muuu…?"_

"I want to try something…"

...

She heard Tauros and Alex before she saw them.

His hooves now treading on the ground much slower than before, Tauros came to a halt when he reached Yena.  
Looking exhilarated, Alex let himself slide from the large Pokémon's back.  
Scratching Tauros' coat as a reward, he grinned at Yena.

"I could do that for hours."

She smiled back at him, and handed over the black bag she'd been carrying for him.

"I would never dare to ride Tauros. He's lucky to have you as an owner, Alex."

"You think so?"

Alex looked flattered for a moment, before his expression changed.

"Oh, right. I saw Quinn ahead."

"You did?"

"Yeah, but he's no longer on the road itself.  
He had to jump off to avoid Tauros' hooves."

Alex laughed when he saw Yena's expression.

"Oh, come on. I could've let Tauros hit the dude, but I didn't."

"Very gracious of you."

"I thought so, too."

...

With Zigzagoon and Oshawott playfully chasing eachother around their owners' feet, Alex and Yena reached two buildings standing on the side of the road.  
As they approached, Quinn appeared from the smaller house on the right.

He waited for them to reach him, before he calmly stating at Alex:

"All of your Pokémon seem to be wild and dangerous.  
It seems like those theories about Pokémon taking after their owners are legitimate."

Before Alex could respond to the insult, Yena frowned.

"Quinn…!"

Quinn's attention now went to the blond girl.

"Yena. I wanted to congratulate you on getting your first badge.  
I wish I hadn't been so… distracted."

He glanced back at Alex, who was silently observing him at Yena's side.

Yena's reply was short.

"Thanks, Quinn. We'll be taking a break around here. Maybe you were just leaving?"

Quinn studied her face for a moment.

"I see. You want me to leave. You're still angry at me about yesterday, but not at Alex.  
I hope that, if we meet again later, you'll know who you can really trust."

He gestured at the building behind him.

"This is the Pokémon Day Care, if you wanted to know.  
I'm done with my business here."

Quinn's eyes snapped back at Alex when the messy-haired youth snorted, and mumbled something to himself.

"What did you say?"

Alex blinked innocently.

"Me? No, you wouldn't want to know.  
I was taught that if I had nothing nice to say, I should not say anything at all.  
So my opinion about you having someone else raise your Pokémon for you, does not really matter now."

Quinn's face turned red as he tried to suppress the urge to punch Alex again.  
Yena stepped between them, grabbing Quinn's arm.

"I'm sorry, Quinn. I really wish the two of you got on better, but clearly that's not going to happen.  
It's not good for any of us if we stay together. I'll be going to Castelia City with Alex, so maybe we can see eachother again there?"

Quinn sighed a couple of times, calming himself.

"Fine. Please stay in contact with Professor Juniper, so she knows you're okay.  
I'll be doing the same, so I'll know when I can expect to see you in Castelia City. Take care."

Alex looked slightly triumphant as Quinn turned his back on them, walking along Route 3 with a steady pace.  
Yena, on the other hand, looked quite upset. She breathed in shakily.

"I hate it when people fight."

...

"So which one do you think is Quinn's?"

They were leaning over the white fence around the Pokémon Day Care's yard, looking at the playing Pokémon, while they ate the sandwiches they had just prepared.  
There was a wide variety of Pokémon species roaming around, carefully supervised by an elderly woman.

Yena studied the Pokémon.

"I have no idea. Probably one that can be caught around Nacrene City…  
Do you know what kind of Pokémon he could've found there?"

"Hmmm… Maybe… a bug Pokémon from Pinwheel Forest?  
I took the quickest route through there when I was on my way to Nuvema Town, so I didn't really pay attention, but I heard you can find all kinds of Pokémon there."

Interested, Yena leaned forward, trying to take a better look at the present Pokémon.

"Oh? Like which ones?"

Alex pointed out some Pokémon.

"Like that one, it's called Sewaddle. Or Petilil, right over there…  
Or maybe he managed to catch a Venipede, I can see one under that bush on the left…"

The voice that suddenly sounded behind him, made them both jump.

"You seem to know a little bit about Pokémon, young one."

An old man with a friendly face was standing behind them.  
He held up his hands as he laughed.

"Ho ho ho. I didn't mean to startle you."

Yena was quick to recover.

"That's okay, sir."

The man smiled.

"Isn't it great, looking at these Pokémon? I love doing that.  
My wife and I take pride in taking the best of care for these creatures, raising them as if they were our own."

He turned his attention to Alex.

"Most people that pass through here, are still at the start of their journey."

He gestured at Zigzagoon, who was currently sticking his nose through a gap in the fence, sniffing at a Herdier on the other side.

"But you have an unusual Pokémon with you."

Yena could see how Alex grew suspicious.

"Why do you ask?"

The man was surprised by the hostile tone in Alex' voice.

"No worries, young man. I mean no harm. I was simply wondering if you're a collector of uncommon Pokémon.  
Because if you are, I could have something really interesting for sale."

...

Yena's mouth fell open as they were led into the back of the Pokémon Day Care, and even Alex couldn't completely disguise his surprise.  
Behind the main desk, there was a large room, with long shelves along the walls.  
And most of them were filled with eggs, in all sizes.

The old man led them along the aisles, as he talked:

"When people leave their Pokémon at the Day Care, it sometimes happens that they lay an egg.  
I often let the owner decide whether or not he wants to have the egg. Most Pokémon trainers will gladly accept one egg.  
But what if their Pokémon has laid a complete nest of eggs?  
In this scenario, most people choose to keep one, and let us take care of the rest."

With a wide sweep of his arm, he gestured at the shelves.

"And behold. We had so many eggs on our hands, and such large variety of them, that we started selling them to interested trainers."

He turned around to them, concentrating on Alex, more than Yena.

"Well…? What do you say?  
Would you be interested in buying one of our eggs, and raising your own baby Pokémon from the very start?"

Alex, quite impressed with the number of eggs, took a moment to think it over.  
Then he shook his head.

"No... Baby Pokémon… I don't have the patience for them.  
They're fragile, and still need to learn the basics."

Yena had wandered on, studying the eggs with wide-open eyes.  
She whispered, more to herself than the others:

"In every egg… There's a baby Pokémon…"

She looked back at the old man.

"What happens if an egg hatches, and no one has bought it?"

The man shrugged.

"Then we'll raise the Pokémon for a while, until it is strong enough to survive in the wild.  
Then we'll release it. We like to think we give them a good and healthy start in life, and teach them to be friendly Pokémon."

There was an odd expression on Yena's face.

"Alex… I really want to raise a baby Pokémon."

"Really…?"

"Yes! Aren't you the one always telling me that I treat Oshawott like a baby?"

She hesitated.

"I think I could do it."

There was a short moment of silence.

"If someone can raise a friendly Pokémon, it'd be you, Yena."

"Thank you, Alex… That's a really nice thing to say."

Yena looked quite emotional, when she turned to the Day Care man.

"What does an egg cost, sir?"

The old man seemed pleased with the fact that he was going to sell an egg.

"That really depends, young lady. A common egg will have a low price.  
And I have a couple of rare eggs, that will be on the expensive side.  
How much money are you willing to spend?"

Yena opened her backpack, getting out her wallet.

"Let's see… I have just earned my first badge in Striaton City, along with 1680 Pokédollars, and I still had some spare money…  
Altogether, I think I can spend around 1800 Pokédollars here."

The elderly man nodded.

"Very well. Then you can choose an egg from these shelves…"

He gestured at the nearest wall.

"The price range of these eggs is somewhere between 500 and 1500 Pokédollars.  
I have some eggs that are around 1800 Pokédollars over here, if you insist on a Pokémon that is a little more uncommon."

With Alex at her side, and with a growing feeling of excitement, Yena looked at the eggs on the appointed shelves.  
There were a lot of light brown ones, and Alex told her that they were probably Lillipup-eggs.

"You should really look at the more expensive eggs, Yena…"

He whispered as they walked past a row of purple eggs with yellow markings on them.

"You can catch a Purrloin almost anywhere in Unova… Look, over there…"

He pointed at some shelves against another wall.

"There are some strange-looking eggs over there…"

The eggs were unusual, to say the least.  
They varied in shape, size and texture. Yena enjoyed running her finger along the eggs, sometimes giggling of excitement as she felt something move inside the shell.

Her eyes grew wide of amazement as she heard sounds coming from one of them.

"Alex, listen to this…"

But Alex was no longer standing at her side.  
When she looked up, she could see him carefully placing his hand on a yellow and white egg.  
As he noticed her watching him, he stepped aside, so she could feel it as well.  
The surface of the egg was quite rough, almost as if it was covered by sand.

Yena could hear the excitement in his voice, as he told her:

"I think I know what Pokémon this is… But I've never actually seen one."

She smiled at her companion, happy about his enthusiasm.

"What would this egg cost, sir?"

She asked the elderly man standing behind them.  
He had his answer ready.

"That one is above your budget, miss. It has a price of 3000 Pokédollars."

A moment of silence passed, as the duo looked back at the expensive egg.  
Alex' hand was trailing the strange markings on top, when the Pokémon inside of it moved.

"I think…"

He started, pausing when the egg shook again.

"I think I should… help you buy this."

Yena blinked, completely surprised by the turn of events.

"Really, Alex…? Are you sure?"

"Yes. I still have my prize money from the gym as well, I could give you the 1200 Pokédollars that you're missing."

"You wanted to earn your own money so bad, Alex…"

"…I did. But I can spend it in any way I like, right?"

A beaming smile and a quick hug were his reward.

"Really, Alex? Oh, _thank you!_"

She ran her hand along the strange egg that was going to be hers.

"This will be fantastic."


	15. Counterbalanced: 15

**Chapter 15 – Counterbalanced**

_Are my eyes open?  
It's so dark._

Where am I?  
Am I dreaming?

The sharp smell of smoke.  
It's so dark.

…  
Wait.

…  
There's light coming from under the door.

…

The door opens…

…

The door opens…

…  
…

...

Yena was closely watching Munna, hovering over Alex.  
Her companion was mumbling in his sleep, moving restlessly and his eyebrows were pulled into a troubled frown.

Munna gradually started to glow red.  
Some of the transparent light reached down to Alex, forming a link between him and Yena's Pokémon.

For a moment, nothing happened at all.  
But after a minute or so, the effects of Munna's actions became apparent.

Alex sighed in his sleep, and rolled to his back.  
Slowly, his face went smooth again, the frown disappearing as he continued to sleep in a more peaceful way.

Yena smiled at Munna when her Pokémon stopped glowing, and returned to her side.

"Well done, Munna…"

She whispered as she patted the Pokémon's head.

...

_…_

…  
The smell of grass.

…  
Climbing trees.

…  
Tracking wild Pokémon.

…  
Running through the forest at full speed.

…  
Breathtaking views from the highest treetops…

…

...

Feeling overjoyed and completely relaxed, Alex opened his eyes, slowly blinking at the early sunlight.  
A delicious smell woke him up even further. As he sat up, he was greeted by Yena, baking small pancakes on her portable stove.

"Good morning!"

Her cheerful smile confused him, and made him cautious.

"Good morning…"

Yena pointed at the small stack of pancakes she had placed on a plate for him.

"Are you hungry? I really felt like eating pancakes this morning."

Alex took the plate, but continued studying Yena's face.  
She soon noticed his glances, and her face turned red.

The color of her cheeks failing her again, she giggled nervously as she rubbed her face.

"Okay, okay. Maybe I have something to tell you, Alex.  
A confession, more or less."

She flipped the pancake in the pan.

"I hope you'll forgive me, but you would never have approved of it if I had asked you…"

Alex, now completely alert, urged her on.

"Yes…?"

Yena breathed in deep.

"I let Munna eat your nightmare."

Alex put down his plate.

"You did… _what?_ Yena… You _promised_…"

"I promised I wouldn't let Munna project your dreams again, and she didn't. Alex, please listen."

She pleaded as he got to his feet.

"I wanted you to sleep well, it must be awful to have nightmares all the time…!  
I asked Munna if your nightmare would be replaced by better dreams if she removed it… and it worked, Alex!"

Alex, who had taken a couple of steps back, hesitated.  
Encouraged by this, Yena continued.

"Right, Alex? Did you not have good dreams? I really meant no harm, I promise…"

Alex sighed, and he sat back down.  
He coughed once, slowed down as always by his dry throat and hoarse voice.

"I haven't felt so well-rested in a long time, and… I know you wanted to help…"

His dark eyes looked back at Yena's face.

"But I don't like anyone messing with my head without me knowing."

Yena nodded with great determination.

"I understand. But Munna was happy to do it... I think she wanted to help, too.  
You can ask her to get rid of your nightmares more often, if you feel like it."

"Hmm. Maybe she could try not staring at me as much, if she wants to help."

He got out two Pokéballs from his bag, tossing them on the grass.

As soon as Zigzagoon appeared, he climbed on Alex lap, then proceeded to obsessively stare at the stack of pancakes in front of him, clearly hinting at what he'd like to have for breakfast. Tauros mooed softly, nudging Alex' shoulder with his nose to greet him, and wandered off to graze.

Alex ignored Zigzagoon's attempts at nibbling from the pancakes, and turned his Pokémon around to inspect its tail.  
The hair that was scorched off during the fight against Pansear was starting to grow back nicely.  
Happy with how his Pokémon was healing, he grabbed the first pancake from the plate, quickly ripping it to bits and throwing all pieces on the grass behind them, Zigzagoon flying after them with great enthusiasm.

Continuing the conversation while starting on his own breakfast, he told Yena:

"I still need to think to whole thing over.  
I'm still not sure if I should be grateful for the good night's sleep, or angry about you experimenting on me…  
But I guess the pancakes tip the balance to the good side."

Yena grinned, happy about the situation not getting out of hand.

The rest of breakfast was quite pleasant, as they were entertained by Tauros, eating some of Zigzagoon's pancake, much to the smaller Pokémon's horror.  
Zigzagoon's appalled barks had absolutely no effect on the bull, who continued grazing after losing interest.

...

"That's really like you, Yena. I should've known you were Pokémon Breeder-material.  
And that's not just a regular Pokémon egg, either."

Yena grinned at the videophone, which was currently displaying a cheerful Professor Juniper.

She was holding the cylindrical, glass egg case that contained her newly-obtained egg in front of the camera, for the professor to see.  
The egg case had an orange top and bottom, and the egg was comfortably placed on a blue, pillow-like blanket.  
In the handle, there was an empty Pokéball, to be used when the mysterious Pokémon hatched from its egg.

"Sssh, professor! The kind of Pokémon is supposed to be a surprise. Alex knows, but he's keeping it a secret."

Professor Juniper moved her head from left to right, as if she'd be able to look behind Yena's back.

"So Alex is still with you? Where is he?"

Yena vaguely gestured at the back of the Pokémon Center.

"He's with Nurse Joy for his check-up.  
Striaton City's nurse made him promise to come here as soon as we arrived in Nacrene City."

Professor Juniper leaned closer to the screen.

"What have you guys been up to? Did he get hurt?"

"Eh... He's fine now, but he got poisoned, right before we got to Striaton City."

Even more suspicious now, the woman stared into the camera, and Yena felt as if the professor was standing right in front of her, questioning her like she had done in Accumula Town.

"Poisoned…? By what Pokémon? I can't remember seeing a Poison-type Pokémon on Route 2, ever!"

Yena's face turned red.

"…It was a Cacnea."

"What? When did you see one of _those_?"

Yena giggled nervously.

"Ehm… Right before Alex caught his Tauros…"

_"Tauros?"_

Professor Juniper leaned back, and folded her arms.

"This is a really strange story… And Tauros are usually difficult to train..."

Glad about the opportunity to give the conversation a push in the good direction, Yena told her:

"But Alex has been great with Tauros, really. And he's not the only one that's caught a new Pokémon…"

While Yena summoned Munna from her Pokéball, and chattered away about both her and Alex' gym battles, her travel companion appeared next to her, decisively pushing Munna out of his face.

"Hello, professor."

There was a moment of silence, in which Professor Juniper stared at her screen.

"…Is that Alex?"

As Alex rolled his eyes at her question, the professor on the other side of the line laughed.

"It really is you! Wow, you look great!  
That's a good new outfit, too! And you're not as skinny as you were before!"

Yena could feel how Alex edged away from the videophone, not really appreciating the abundant response from Professor Juniper.  
She touched his arm for a moment, drawing his attention.

"What did the nurse say, Alex?"

Looking back and forth between her and the professor, he replied:

"The nurse was happy to see that I gained some weight, but she did say I should continue to do so. My shoulde-…"

He abruptly stopped talking, but Professor Juniper urged him on.

"Yena already told me about you getting into trouble with a Cacnea, Alex. You might as well tell me how you're healing up."

Alex hesitated, but then continued.

"It's almost completely healed. She said that if I'm lucky, it won't even turn into a scar."

"That's good news, Alex."

Professor Juniper looked at something on her side.

"Ah! Yena, your parents have just arrived. Would you like to talk to them?"

"Of course!"

Alex looked at the PokémonCenter's door, a hint that was immediately picked up by Yena.

"Why don't you wait outside, Alex? Maybe explore the city?  
I'll find you when I finish my phonecall, okay?"

Alex nodded, glad to be excused.

As he opened the door and stepped outside, he could hear Yena happily greeting her parents.  
In a sudden urge, he grabbed Tauros' Pokéball, and threw it out on the street.

As his Pokémon appeared, he said:

"Let's go for a ride, Tauros. I really need the fresh air right now."


	16. Counterbalanced: 16

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 16**

Waving at her parents one last time, Yena pushed a button to hang up the phone.

_"Muuunnn…"_

Munna's light voice made her turn around to her Pokémon.  
To her surprise, there was a little girl standing behind her, petting Munna's nose.  
Yena estimated the child, that seemed to be alone, to be about five years old.

She kneeled down next to the girl, but before the could say anything, the child turned to her.  
With a big grin on her face, she told Yena:

"Your Pokémon is so soft!"

Yena smiled.

"She is, right?"

The girl had quite a striking appearance – two pink hairpins decorated the child's long, dark hair, that fell straight down past her shoulders.  
Bright green eyes were looking into Yena's face.  
She was dressed in a simple, gray dress, worn over a pink shirt that matched the pins in her hair.  
There was a yellow bag hanging from the girl's right shoulder.

Yena looked around for a worried parent. The girl had surely strayed from her father or mother, distracted by the pretty pink Pokémon.  
But she found there were hardly any people present in the Pokémon Center.

"What's your name?"

Another wide grin from the girl.

"It's Scout! Now you tell me yours!"

Confused by the girl's unusual name, Yena hesitated.

"My name is Yena…"

"Ah, I like that name!"

"Thank you, Scout. Listen… are you lost? Where's your mom?"

Scout grabbed Yena's hand.

"Will you help me look, outside?"

Yena reached for Munna's Pokéball, to call the Pokémon back.  
She hoisted the glass egg case along with her.

"…Of course I will."

...

The moment Yena stepped outside, the girl pulled her arm, and gestured at the trees at the edge of town.

"There!"

A month ago, Yena probably would've followed the child without question.  
But Alex' constant vigilance had made her more alert, as well.  
She stopped in her tracks as the girl pointed at the forest again.

"Scout, what's over the-…"

Yena backed away as a man appeared from the forest, stepping into the sunlight.

"Who…"

Before she could ask the complete question, the man spoke up.

"You must be Alex' friend."

Yena blinked, and took another step back.

"How…"

"Very good."

The man looked around.

"So where is he? We're in a hurry."

Yena let go of the little girl's hand.  
Scout ran for the man, and clinged to his shirt, completely comfortable in his presence, and unaware of Yena's nervousness.

"Why are you looking for him?"

"I'll tell him when he gets here."

The man had wild, red hair.  
The gray bandanna around his neck was matched by his gray gloves.

The rest of his clothes were torn and dirty, and mostly in shades of brown.

Looking at both him and Scout, it suddenly struck Yena that the gray fabrics they were wearing were the exact same shade as Alex' shirt had been when she first met him. The way he was constantly looking around reminded her of Alex as well.

"…I don't know where he is right now."

The man's eyes scanned Nacrene City again, while absently placing his hand on the girl's head.

"He'll be here."

To her left, Yena could vaguely hear Tauros' hooves on the ground, announcing his arrival.

Leaving the two mysterious figures standing near the edge of the forest, she ran back to Route 3, where the sound was coming from.  
Hoping to stop him before he ran into the shady character in Nacrene City, she waved at him as soon as he came into view.  
Fortunately, Alex slowed Tauros down, eventually coming to a halt when they reached the blond girl on the path.

"What's going on, Yena?"

"Alex! There are two people in Nacrene City, looking for you!"

He frowned.

"For me? Who…?"

"I don't know, but there's…"

A high-pitched squeal interrupted her.

_"Aleeex!"_

Alex' eyebrows went up in surprise, as Scout came running down the path, as fast as she could.  
The red-haired man was following at a slower pace.

"Scout…?"

Sliding from Tauros' back, he was just in time to catch the little girl as she flew into his arms.  
Her short arms around Alex' neck and her legs around his waist, she hugged him tightly.

"You know them…?"

Alex nodded.

"It's okay, Yena."

To Yena's astonishment, he made a small, respectful bow at the mysterious man.

"Chase, I didn't expect to see you here."

The man, apparantely named Chase, nodded and looked at Alex from head to toe.

"It's been a while, Alex. Things must've happened, if you abandoned your clothes."

Alex reply was immediate, complete and honest.

"I was hospitalized. The nurse took my clothes, and Yena bought me new ones."

He nodded at Yena while saying this.

"I see…"

Now getting right to the point, Chase patted Scout's back, who let go of Alex immediately, dropping to the ground.  
Venturing closer to Tauros, not intimidated by the beast in the slightest, she proceeded to touch his nose, feel his manes, and whisper in the Pokémon's ear.

With Scout out of the picture, Chase told Alex:

"I have a message for you from Ada."

Alex nodded, and bowed his head.

"I'm listening, Chase."

"You and your friend should head to Castelia City. She says you have an important part to play."

Alex looked slightly taken aback.

"…When?"

"As nothing is binding you to this place… immediately."

"…Yena as well?"

"I think you heard me."

Yena was looking at both men with a growing sense of confusion.  
Chase, about ten years older than she was, seemed to have some authority over Alex.  
Now they were talking about her, as if she wasn't standing right next to them.

"How much does she know?"

"She's had half a look into my nightmares when we stayed in the Dream Yard, that's all."

"Can she be trusted?"

Yena felt compelled to interrupt.

"Ehm… Excuse me? I'm glad you two know what's going on, but I don't have a clue."

Chase's grey eyes focused on her.

"It's unusual for an outsider to be summoned. I understand that the situation is confusing.  
We'll tell you more as we cross the Skyarrow Bridge."

He lifted his head.

"Scout! We're leaving."

"Yes, Chase!"

The girl stopped tickling Tauros' legs, and took Chase's hand, ready to go.  
Yena exchanged glances with Alex.  
He shrugged lightly, letting her know there was not much to be done about the situation.

As Chase and Scout turned around, and Alex prepared to follow, Yena called out:

"But wait…! You can't just…"

The red-haired man turned around, staring at her.  
Yena's face turned red immediately, but she continued:

"…You can't just… come and take us away. I don't know you, and we had plans here in Nacrene City!"

Something Chase had said could help her…!

"You said… There was nothing binding Alex to this place! But there is…!  
He has an agreement with me!"

Alex turned around to her as well, curious to see where this would lead.  
Chase looked disgruntled.

"What kind of agreement?"

"I made his Pokédex work… and in exchange, he promised me to guide me on my journey, as far as Castelia City.  
But we've only just arrived here. Part of being a guide is to show me around, yes?  
I also plan on challenging Nacrene City's gym, before leaving for Castelia City."

Grey eyes went to Alex.

"Is this true?"

When Alex nodded, Scout cheered, jumping around as she did.

"Yaaay! We can stay here a little longer, right Chase?"

Chase thought for a moment.

"You shouldn't make promises like that, when your original plan was to return to Castelia City as fast as possible.  
But it can't be helped."

Glad about the extra time to figure out this complicated situation, Yena stated:

"Looks like I'll be cooking for a company of four, then.  
In the meantime, can you _please_ explain to me how you and Alex know eachother?"

Chase's reply was slow.

"I suppose it doesn't hurt to tell you now…  
The three of us are part of the Gray Guardians.  
We're an organisation in Castelia City that fosters children that have lost both of their parents."

He gestured at Scout, then at Alex.

"Scout has been with us since she was a baby, so she can't remember her parents.  
Alex, on the other hand…"

He ignored the deeply unhappy expression on Alex' face.

"…Only joined us about two years ago, after his parents died in a fire."


	17. Counterbalanced: 17

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 17**

Despite the pleasant, warm sunlight on her face, Yena felt slightly uncomfortable.  
She was sitting in the grass, her knees only inches away from Chase's.

Only minutes ago, Alex had been kneeling down right here, to have an hour-long conversation with the mysterious red-haired man.  
Yena had been waiting on the other side of the field, cooking dinner with Scout.  
From where she had been sitting, only Alex' face was visible to her.  
He had been talking almost continuously, calmly reporting to Chase what had happened since he left Castelia City.

After a while, Alex had got up, gesturing at her to come closer.  
As she approached, he told her:

"Chase wants to talk to you. Don't lie to him.  
Tell him the complete truth, no matter what he asks."

He paused.

"I'll see you in a bit."

Then he had stepped away from her, joining an overjoyed Scout at the portable stove, who couldn't wait to have him taste the vegetable soup she made with Yena.

Slightly intimidated, Yena had carefully taken place in front of Chase.  
Gray eyes studied her, and as he hadn't spoken up yet, she took her time looking at him as well.  
There were some scratches on his arms and face, as if he'd been running through thorny bushes.

The sleeve on the right side of his shirt was badly torn, and Yena almost opened her mouth to offer to repair it.  
But the strict expression on his face stopped her, and she sat in silence, waiting for him to ask her a question.

After an awkward silence that lasted a couple of minutes, he told her:

"The first thing that is said between two people, sets the tone."

Unsure of what to say, Yena just nodded.  
Chase slightly leaned forward, as if what he was about to ask, was of utmost importance.

"What was the first thing you ever said to Alex?"

Yena sighed, surprised by the question.

"I said…"

Her mind went back to the moment she had approached Alex at the back of the laboratory.  
He had been crouching down near an open window, trying to see what was going on inside.

"I asked…"

Yena had studied him for a while, and she could now clearly remember the shade of gray his shirt had been.  
She had taken a deep breath, and asked…

"…Can I help you with anything?"

Chase leaned back again, looking pleased.  
The expression on his face had softened.

"It looks like that's exactly what you've been doing."

"…What do you mean?"

"I think it's obvious. He's well-fed, well-dressed and I haven't heard him utter even one swear-word since I arrived."

Chase shrugged lightly.

"Now, I usually don't mind people expressing their discontent, but Alex is exceptionally eloquent when it comes to swearing.  
It's an excellent sign to see that he's calmed down so much.  
That's why I regret having to take both of you to Castelia City after finishing your business here in Nacrene City."

"So… What's going on in Castelia City, that we can't afford to miss?"

"Only Ada knows, and I don't think even she is absolutely sure about the details."

"…Who is Ada?"

"You will meet her when you get to Castelia City. She's really one of a kind."

Yena could tell she wasn't going to get any more information out of Chase than this.  
She waited for him to either end the conversation, or ask her another question.  
Her gaze strayed a bit, and soon she was looking at Scout and Alex in the distance.

Scout was currently wrestling Zigzagoon, determined to decorate the unwilling Pokémon with one of her pink hairpins.  
Alex was quietly supervising her, stopping her from rolling into the hot portable stove now and then.  
The scene brought a smile to Yena's face.

Chase noticed her smile.

"You're a kind person, Yena. I think this is what Alex has been needing all this time."

"…Needing what, exactly?"

"A friend."

...

"…So it's basically hide-and-seek?"

The sun was setting, and Yena was feeling quite worn-out by the confusing day, but Chase had suggested doing a bit of training before going to sleep.  
The red-haired man had given her and Alex a challenge – to hide in the forest for half an hour, without being found by his Pokémon.

As he watched Scout doing cartwheels around them, he explained:

"It has elements of hide-and-seek, yes. Alex has often been through this training in Castelia City as well.  
It'll be interesting to try this in a forest environment. But here's the catch…"

Chase grinned.

"We'll be playing 'tag' at the same time. And I'm it."

Yena was still confused.

"I don't quite understand the game yet…"

Chase got out a Pokéball.

"This isn't a _game_, it's serious training."

Alex rolled his eyes, having heard this too often.

"You'll stop wondering why his name is Chase after this."

Yena rummaged through her bag to find her Pokédex, as soon as Chase's Pokémon appeared on the grass.

_"Sawk, the Karate Pokémon. Sawk ties its belt to get pumped and give its punches an extra bit of power.  
The sound of Sawk punching boulders and trees can be heard all the way from the mountains where they train.  
Disturbing its training angers Sawk."_

The blue-skinned Pokémon bowed shortly at its master, then assumed a fighting position, bending it's knees slightly, and his arms in front of him.  
He was ready and eager to start training.

Chase explained the rest of the game to Yena:

"You'll each be using both of your Pokémon.  
They're allowed to help you, and do their best to fight Sawk.  
Because when my Sawk finds you out there…"

He gestured at the forest behind them.

"He'll try to catch you, and bring you back to me.  
If he's unable to bring you back here within thirty minutes, his training will have failed…"

Sawk growled at this comment, not liking the thought of losing.

"…and you will have won. But believe me when I say that it's been a long time since anyone achieved this."

Scout joined them where they were standing, tugging at Chase's shirt.

"I'm on your team, right?"

Chase grinned.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot to tell them. Scout will assist me in tracking you."

Alex breathed in fast, causing Yena to look up in surprise.

"Will that… make a difference?"

He nodded.

"Definitely. Scout has the best tracking skills, and her eyes and ears are amazing."

The little girl giggled at the compliments.

"I'll find you!"

"That's right!"

Chase pointed at the forest.

"And because Yena hasn't done this before, you'll both get a headstart of five minutes.  
Leave your Pokémon egg here with me. Now go!"

...

After Alex and Yena had been running through the trees for a minute or so, four alert Pokémon at their side, Yena grabbed Alex' arm, stopping him.  
They hadn't been alone since Chase and Scout joined them, and something had been troubling her for a while.

"Alex…"

He was reluctant to stop running.

"What…?"

He caught a look of Yena's teary eyes.

"Oh wait… I think I know where this is going…  
You want to hug me and tell me how sorry you are about my parents."

Yena sniffed.

"Well, that's not a strange thing to do, is it? You could've told me, Alex…  
Why would you keep your parents' death a secret?"

Alex sighed deeply.

"Because _this_ would've happened."

He gestured at her tears.

"I really don't know how to deal with crying people."

Yena wiped her eyes with the palm of her hand.

"Sorry for crying, Alex… I just… can't _imagine_… to even lose _one_ of my parents…"

Alex looked around nervously, making the Pokémon around them scan the area for any danger.

"It's… not something I can recommend, no."

He sighed again, seeing how he wasn't going to get out of the situation easily.

"You know we'll have a really strong Pokémon coming after us soon, right?"

When Yena sniffed, and wiped some more tears away, he had no other option.

"Oh, alright. Come here."

Yena immediately closed the gap between them, and put her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.  
She sobbed uncontrollably on his shoulder.

"Alex… I'm so sorry… It's just so… _sad._"

He awkwardly patted her on the back for a moment.

"Okay, stop it now.  
You're going to ruin my sweater with your tears, and get us caught by Sawk at the same time."

Yena stepped back, looking into his face.  
She opened her mouth to say something, when Chase's voice echoed through the trees.

"That's enough hugging for today, kids!  
Now get going, I'll give you _two extra minutes_!"

"Let's go, or he'll catch us within the first ten minutes of the chase.  
I don't think I'll ever hear the end of that."

As she followed him, Yena looked back with wide eyes.

"Could he see us from where we left him…?"

"Chase? No. But Scout could. She really has extraordinary eyes."

"Wow…"

...

Yena tried to sit perfectly still as she crouched down behind some particularly thick trees.  
To her right, Oshawott was lying on his belly, trying to hide his bright blue body and white head under some shrubs.

She slowly turned her head to the left, and quickly spotted Munna, a couple of meters away.  
The pink Pokémon was still in plain sight, and Yena wished she knew some sign language to let Munna know to hide behind some trees.

She held her breath when she heard footsteps coming closer.

As she peeked around a tree, she was shocked to spot Chase's Sawk, carefully scanning his surroundings with his eyes.  
Yena withdrew her head, trying to stay in the exact same position, since any movement would cause a sound.

_"Muuuu…!"_

Munna had seen Sawk as well, and was now glowing, preparing a Psywave attack.

_"Sawwww…"_

Sawk had immediately noticed the brightly glowing Pokémon among the trees to Yena's left.  
Yena couldn't quite see what was going on, but she heard Sawk move away when a wave of light was fired off.

Munna disappeared from her sight as well, swirling away as Sawk followed her.

Everything went quiet again.

Yena nearly jumped when Oshawott touched her hand.  
The Pokémon had crawled up to her, and was letting her know he was ready to defend her.  
She smiled at him, and plucked some leaves off a nearby bush to cover his body.

There had been no sign of Alex since they split up, and went in different directions.

Just when she considered repositioning herself, because her legs were going numb, she heard Zigzagoon's wild bark, not too far away.  
She peered through the trees, and wished the sun had waited setting a little bit longer.  
But this new kind of hide-and-seek was so exciting to her, that the spreading darkness only made things more thrilling.

Yena tapped on Oshawott's head, and gestured away from the sounds when he looked up.  
She wanted to get away from Sawk, hopefully until the thirty minutes had gone by.

She slowly got to her feet, and inched away from where she last saw Sawk.  
Trying to hardly make a sound at all, she whispered at Oshawott:

"Should we run for it?"

He nodded, and clawed his way from her leg to her shoulder, holding on tightly as she started sprinting.

A loud, high-pitched voice ringed through the trees.

"_Theeeere!_ Chase, someone's running _right there!_"

Yena bit her lip as she continued to rush through the forest. Scout's sharp eyes had spotted her within seconds in the half-dark.  
There was more to this girl than met the eye.

Scout's yelling had not only alerted Chase to her presence, but Sawk as well.

Behind her, Zigzagoon had stopped barking, and Yena was sure she could hear footsteps on the forest floor behind her.  
She glanced over her shoulder for a moment, and her suspicions were confirmed – Sawk had locked eyes on her, and was running faster than her legs could ever go.

Yena, caught up in the game, cried out in panic as Sawk's three-fingered hand scratched her arm as the Pokémon tried to grab her.  
Oshawott, still perched on her shoulder, chose this moment to jump off, landing right in Sawk's face.

Yena almost stopped running to see how her Pokémon would do, but then remembered the objective of this game – for her to escape Sawk for the full thirty minutes.  
She didn't have a clue how much time had gone by, but she was determined to last as long as possible.

Yena made a sharp turn to the left, hoping to shake off Sawk by going in a different direction.  
Behind her, she could hear her beloved Oshawott growl, and water showering down on the forest floor.

Shock was the only thing that stopped her from screaming as a shadow appeared from the trees before her, and a hand grabbed her, pulling her behind another group of trees. The sight of Alex' pale skin and dark eyes made her sigh of relief, but he gestured at her to be really quiet.

He brought his mouth to her ear, his whisper barely audible.

"Tauros will be charging by here soon. I'll jump on, and you should run in the opposite direction.  
Sawk can't go after us both. I think it's almost time."

Before she could signal she understood the plan, the heavy sound of hooves on the ground approached their group of trees quickly.  
As soon as Tauros appeared, Alex leaped forward, grabbing the Pokémon's manes and climbing onto his back in mid-gallop as if he'd been practising it for years.

As soon as the large, brown Pokémon had passed her, Yena turned around to run into the direction Tauros had appeared from.  
But a surprised cry from Alex behind her made her look back over her shoulder, and then stop in her tracks again.

Sawk had thrown his full weight against Tauros' side, knocking the bull over.  
As the Pokémon hit the forest floor, Alex rolled off, pulling his legs back before Tauros landed on them.

He scrambled for the nearest trees, but Sawk was not letting him go that easily.  
The blue Fighting-Pokémon leaped over Tauros, grabbing the back of Alex' sweater.

When Alex swung his arm around to Sawk to defend himself, Sawk easily caught the youth's fist, then smoothly twisted his arm to his back.  
Then, he grabbed Alex around his waist, hoisting him in the air to carry him back to Chase.

Alex, who felt there was no escaping from the muscled Pokémon, stopped struggling.

But when he saw Yena, still standing where he had left her, he yelled:

"What are you still doing there? _Run!_"

Barely held back by Alex, Sawk was standing in front of her before she could even turn around.  
She didn't put up a fight as Alex had done, but allowed the Pokémon to grab her arm, and guide her back to Chase, instead of being carried.

...

Scout was cheering as Sawk stepped from between the trees with both Alex and Yena.

"Yaaay, Sawk!"

The little girl grabbed Alex' arm as he was put down by Chase's Pokémon.  
She giggled as she told him:

"You both got caught."

"Seems that way, right?"

Chase was looking pleased.

"Not a bad effort, kids. Twenty minutes in total."

He pointed at the trees.

"Your Pokémon gave it their best as well."

Munna, Oshawott, Zigzagoon and Tauros appeared from different parts of the forest, and Yena was glad to see they weren't badly hurt.  
It seemed like Sawk had merely shaken them off instead of really attacking them, as that had not been his main objective.

Chase explained:

"This is not only a stealth-exercise, but also one to train your Pokémon in thinking independantly.  
You can't always give them commands when you have to be really quiet, so the Pokémon have to think for themselves.  
If you guys want to challenge the gym here…"

He nodded to where Nacrene City was.

"…I have some other training methods up my sleeve.  
You'll be walking out of that gym with a badge in no time at all, if it's up to me."


	18. Counterbalanced: 18

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 18**

Yena stretched out on the grass, Oshawott immediately following her example with an almost comical precision.  
Munna was nearby as well, floating closer to the ground than usual.

Yena sighed as she stretched out her limbs, convinced she had never felt this exhausted.  
She reached out to Oshawott, scratching his belly for a moment.

"Are you okay, Oshawott? Do you feel any stronger yet?"

She giggled as the Pokémon exhaled dramatically, then yawned.

"Isn't it odd…? We feel so tired now, but I think we'll turn out to be a better team in the end."

She pushed herself up on her elbows, observing Alex and Chase, who were still training.

Chase had immediately taken charge of their training schedule, determining what points both young trainers should work on.  
Because Yena had only just started out, she had been given a series of exercises to do with both Oshawott and Munna, designed on building and tightening their bonds. Among other things, like practising battles and improving attacks, she had been playing hide-and-seek with Scout until she managed to elude the little girl for more than fifteen minutes. She still couldn't quite see the point, but she was happy to play the game with the overjoyed five-year old, and fascinated by the girl's tracking skills.

Movement on the field attracted her attention.

At first glance, it seemed like Alex was attacking Chase, grabbing the man's shirt near his throat, and pulling him closer, as if to intimidate him.  
Ignoring how her exhausted muscles protested, Yena sat up, but after a moment, she noticed how Alex was calmly talking to Chase, as if he was giving him instructions.

Chase nodded once, looking very serious.  
Careful not to hit Alex too hard, he kicked against the youth's leg, then made a a punching movement towards Alex' stomach. Alex let go of him, and Chase backed off.

Yena couldn't quite hear what Alex was saying, but with a shock, she realised they were acting out the fight between Alex and Quinn in Striaton City's gym, and Alex was currently playing Quinn's role, to show Chase how things happened. Her hunch was confirmed when Alex stormed forward, tackling Chase, so that they both fell on the ground. Alex remained in his position for a moment, leaning over Chase, finishing the scene with the dramatic movement of hitting Chase in the stomach.

Because Yena had only heard the noises of the fight in Striaton City, she was shocked to see what actually happened.  
His brute strength had given Quinn quite an advantage, and Yena could tell just how lucky Alex had been, for not seriously getting hurt.

_"Muuuu…_"

Munna was staring at Alex intently, and Oshawott seemed captivated by what was happening as well.

Both Alex and Chase had gotten back to their feet, and now it was Chase's turn to instruct.  
Using his arms and legs to express what he meant, he seemed to give Alex some advise on what to do, should something like this happen again.

Moving somewhat slower than the original attack had been, Chase pushed Alex over with his shoulder.  
Alex replied by carefully placing his foot in Chase's stomach, giving in to the motion and pulling the red-haired man onwards into a somersault as he rolled.  
Yena watched on as they practised, also observing the other self-defense tricks that followed, and silently hoped Alex and Quinn would never have to face eachother again.

...

"The Gray Guardians… They're not like a… regular orphanage, are they?"

Alex put his hands in his pockets, and looked at Scout, who was running from one treasure to another, happily chatting away, without noticing they weren't really listening. It had been a good idea to take the little girl to the Nacrene Museum - she was showing nothing but excitement when studying the countless meteorites, fossils and skeletons.

Chase had declined their invitation to join them, refusing to show his face in public so much.  
It had reminded Yena of Alex, when they had just started to travel together.

A sarcastic grin had appeared on Alex' face.

"What gave it away? The fact that they allowed me to go and steal a Pokédex?  
Or maybe the idea of them supporting my efforts to create a new identity altogether?"

Yena frowned at his bitter tone of voice for a moment.

"Both things are… unusual.  
How did you end up joining them?"

Alex pulled his shoulders up, shrugging. He leaned forward, pretending to examine a meteorite.  
Yena waited patiently for his reply, smiling and waving at Scout on the other side of the museum as the girl looked around at them.

After a moment, Alex' sighed.

"I suppose… It doesn't hurt to tell you."

He paused.

"The Gray Guardians are like… an underground organisation.  
Everyone there has been in some kind of trouble… their situations are so that they will not get help from the government.  
Maybe they were kicked out other orphanages for being troublemakers, ran away from home, or… the police is after them.  
The only things the Gray Guardians ask of a person joining them are honesty and dedication.  
You'll have to tell your full story to Ada, the Gray Guardians' leader. She'll know if it's the complete truth or not."

Yena nodded slowly, even though he was looking away from her.

"That's… close to what I figured. But that doesn't really answer my question.  
If both of your parents died in a fire…"

She hesitated.

"…What trouble did you get into?"

She followed him as he stepped to the next vitrine, displaying an oddly shaped fossil.  
The card in front of the fossil could probably tell them more about it, but they weren't looking at it.

After a moment of staring blankly at the object, Alex seemed to come to some kind of decision.  
He turned around to Yena.

"You already know I ran away from the hospital in Castelia City. It was after they told me…"

He hesitated again.

"…Well, I have an older brother. He's… much older than me.  
When I'd say that we don't see eye to eye… that'd be the understatement of the century.  
We're _nothing_ alike. In the hospital… they told me he'd be given custody of me."

Alex looked away again.

"So I decided to run for it.  
I tried to make my way through the desert on Route 4, but failed miserably, since I wasn't back to full health yet.  
Chase found me there, told me about the Gray Guardians… and that's the story."

From the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Yena.  
She nodded at him, reassuringly.

"That must've been difficult, Alex."

"Hmm."

"But that's not the full story, is it?"

Alex turned his head, his dark eyes studying her.  
He said nothing, but Yena could tell she'd been right.

"You don't have to tell me now. I'm glad you decided to share part of it with me."

Alex slowly exhaled through his nose, thinking the situation over.

"You're scary sometimes, Yena. I honestly thought I was a decent liar."

She smiled.

"You are, but… I've been travelling with you for a while… I can tell when you're being honest."

"I see… well…"

He had now turned around to her fully, and a determined expression had taken place on his face.

"You're right. I haven't told you everything.  
And I think I'm… ready to tell you more."

Yena nodded, encouraging him to go on, and her heart fluttered.  
She tried to hide the excitement she felt, that was usually part of hearing a secret.

Alex glanced around the museum for a moment, looking quite nervous.

"You see… What I've been meaning to tell y-…"

But her heart sank again, as he was cut off by a loud crash at the back of the museum, followed by the sound of Scout crying.  
Alex immediately turned around, hurrying past the displays, Yena following right after him.

They found Scout near the back of the museum, where a large Pokémon skeleton had been standing, until the little girl had decided to climb it, using the ribs as a ladder. The skeleton had collapsed, and the bones had scattered across the floor. Scout was sitting among them, crying with a deafening intensity.

She clinged to Alex the moment he reached her.  
He used the sleeve of his sweater to wipe away most of her tears, telling her to stop crying while he quickly checked her for any injuries.  
The little girl buried her face into his shoulder, still sobbing, but slowly calming down.

Alex exchanged glances with Yena, after he looked at the mess around them.  
Yena picked up one of the bones.

"Maybe we should…"

She nearly dropped it as a Pokémon appeared by her side, angrily barking at the situation.  
The Herdier was quickly followed by its owner - a tall woman with wild, teal curls, making her bushy hair stand up as a whole.  
The woman took a moment to study the scene, then folded her arms. She turned her head, and called out to someone at the entrance:

"It's okay, Hawes! Another kid climbed the Dragonite skeleton.  
I told you we should put a fence around it.  
Why don't you gather some men to assemble it again?"

A male voice replied to her that he would make such arrangements, and the woman turned back at them.

"You guys look like Deerling caught in the headlights of a car.  
Don't worry, my husband is really good at putting together skeletons like this, he's had some practise in the past."

She leaned forward, studying Scout, who was still sniffing.

"Are you okay, dear?"

Scout looked up from Alex' shoulder, rubbing her eyes.  
Her voice sounded thin as she stammered:

"I was going to… wave at Alex and Yena… from the top."

She sniffed, but before she could start crying again, Alex asked:

"Are you the director of the museum?"

Taken aback by Alex lack of tact, Yena quickly added:

"And we're sorry for the mess we've made, of course.  
We should've kept a closer eye on her."

The woman laughed, amused by Yena's obvious attempts at salvaging the situation.

"You're a bunch of troublemakers, aren't you? Yes, I'm the director of the museum.  
My name is Lenora, and I'm also this city's gym leader. Are you guys here to challenge me?"

Alex put Scout back to the ground, but held her hand to keep her from wandering off again.

"Yes."

Yena hesitated.

"Really, Alex…? I don't think I'm ready yet…  
We were really just visiting the museum."

The woman nodded.

"Well, of course you're both welcome to challenge me at any time.  
But to reach me, you'll have to solve the riddles in the library over there."

Lenora gestured at a door at the back at the museum.  
Then she added, with a wink:

"But I do hope you guys are better at battling than you are at visiting a museum…"

Scout pulled Alex arm, pouting.

"Can we go back now?"

Yena apologised to an amused Lenora again, before following Alex and Scout to the exit.

As she caught up with Alex outside, he let go of Scout's hand, and she immediately ran for the trees of Route 3, where their camp was located, and where Chase would be waiting. Yena looked at the running girl, who sometimes stopped to put the yellow bag right, whenever it threatened to fall off her shoulder.

"Scout seems to be really comfortable around you, Alex."

His eyes were also following Scout.

"Scout likes just about anything and anyone."

But Yena wasn't giving up so easily.

"Still… You're looking out for her. It's nice that you two get along so well."

He glanced at her for a moment.

"Of course I'm looking out for her.  
You should know that being mean to Scout guarantees a one-way ticket out of the Gray Guardians."

"Wow. That's harsh."

"…Not really."

He leaned in a bit closer to Yena.

"…Not if you know that she's Ada's only grandchild, her one remaining relative.  
And seeing as Ada is the leader of the Gray Guardians…  
Well, she has a lot of power over everyone."

...

They found Chase on the edge of the open field, making a fire.  
Yena could sense Alex' dismay about it, but he said nothing, knowing better than to protest against Chase's decisions.

Chase gestured at Yena to come closer.  
When she walked around the campfire, he pointed at the glass egg case standing nearby.

He had agreed on keeping it safe in the time that the three of them visited Nacrene City's museum.

"I think I heard some sounds coming from your egg."

When he saw the delighted expression on Yena's face, he added:

"I don't know a lot about eggs, so it may not mean anything."

But Yena had already removed the top off the glass case, accompanied by Scout, and both girls leaned in close to listen.

They gasped and giggled nervously as soft squealing could be heard coming from inside the yellow and white egg.  
Alex had come closer as well, smiling at the girls' enthusiasm. Yena looked up to him.

"I think it'll be hatching soon…!"


	19. Counterbalanced: 19

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 19**

"Scout… Scout, wake up."

The girl's eyelids flew open, and her green eyes immediately scanned her surroundings.  
Alex was crouching down beside her, his pale face strangely lit by the campfire.

She yawned, and stretched out, half of her wanting to roll over and go back sleep, and the other half wanting to know why she'd been woken up.  
She blinked repeatedly, and rubbed her face as she sat up.

"…Wuzgoinon…?"

Alex gestured at her to come closer.

"The egg is about to hatch. You wanted to see, right?"

Her head cleared up in a matter of seconds, as she was reminded of the events earlier that evening.  
The squealing from the egg had grown louder by the hour, and the first crack in the shell had appeared right after dinner.  
But nothing much happened after that, and she had soon nodded off to sleep near the campfire.

Chase and Yena were sitting in the grass, close to the egg.  
It had been removed from his glass case, and was now simply resting on its blue blanket on the ground.  
Alex and Yena's Pokémon were all observing the events in their own way – Zigzagoon was lying flat on its stomach, sometimes inching forward, hardly able to contain its excitement. Its spiky ears were up, ready to catch any sound coming from the egg.

Tauros wasn't as thrilled, but was simply standing nearby, quietly keeping an eye on them.  
Oshawott was sitting on Yena's right side, often looking up at his owner's face.  
And Munna was hovering back and forth between Alex and Yena, at least until Alex had enough of her, and pushed her away quite decisively.

Despite the warmth from the campfire, Scout shivered, and quickly snuggled up to Alex, joining them in the circle they had formed around the hatching egg.  
Alex accepted her presence without a word. Comfortably nested against his new, warm sweater, she sighed happily.  
Chase might be like the father she never knew, but Alex had been special to her from the moment he had joined the Gray Guardians.  
She rarely trusted new kids from the very start, but there was something different about Alex, and she had taken a shine to him immediately.  
Even as he fought with the older kids at the Gray Guardians, and cursed at anyone within hearing range, she felt like he was always looking out for her in some way.

The egg in front of them made a cracking noise, and her attention snapped back to it.

Some small holes had opened up at any place cracks crossed eachother on the egg, and the sounds from the baby Pokémon inside grew even louder.  
Scout's eyes quickly went from one face to another, wanting to see if the others shared her excitement.

Chase caught her looking at him, and gave her the tiniest of smiles.  
She grinned, and her eyes strayed on to Yena.  
She was staring at the egg intently, and even at her young age, Scout could tell this was an important moment to the blond girl.

Scout turned her head, looking up to Alex.

"Is Yena going to be the new Pokémon's mommy?"

Yena giggled nervously at her question, and an amused grin spread across Alex' face.

"I guess you could say that."

Yena had her Pokédex in one hand, still not knowing what Pokémon would come out of the rough, yellow-white egg.  
And in the other hand, she had an empty Pokéball, for the baby Pokémon to be put into upon hatching.

The egg was shaking – once, twice… Then some more cracks appeared in the shell.  
Scout could hardly sit still.

"It's hatching, it's hatching!"

She could hear Yena gasp - the egg shell started to fall apart as the baby Pokémon inside had finally gathered enough strength to break free.  
As Scout was sitting so close to Alex, she could tell he was holding his breath, and from the corner of her eyes, she could see Chase moving forward, even if it was just an inch or two.

Zigzagoon couldn't contain a high-pitched bark once as a small claw appeared from the egg, as if he was overflowing with excitement.  
His tail was wagging frantically, whipping up a small cloud of dust behind him.  
Alex put one hand on his Pokémon's back to keep Zigzagoon from approaching the hatching egg.

The top of the egg fell off.

As soon as it did, Alex gently pushed Scout aside, told Zigzagoon to stay put, and leaned forward to the egg, carefully peeking in.  
As soon as he had an idea of how the Pokémon was positioned inside the egg, he grabbed what remained of the shell, and turned it counterclockwise until he felt like the egg was placed exactly right.

Yena looked confused as Alex leaned back, returning to his place in the grass.  
She whispered, even though there was no need to.

"Why did you do that, Alex…?"

He smiled.

"You should be the first thing it sees."

The words had hardly left his mouth, when the rest of the shell broke apart.

The small Pokémon, quite tired from its struggle to freedom, lay quietly among the scattered pieces of egg shell.  
It blinked against the campfire's light for a moment, then finally set its eyes on Yena, as Alex had predicted.

Yena's expression was one of a kind – she was smiling down upon the newly-hatched Pokémon.

Her mouth formed the words of admiration to the baby Pokémon, but no sound came out.  
She stretched out her arm, putting her hand on the Pokémon's belly. It softly squealed, and grasped her hand with its little claws.

A metallic voice from Yena's Pokédex broke the spell of the moment.

_'Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon. It lives in deep burrows in arid regions with minimal rainfall.  
It can roll itself instantly into a ball.'_

The baby Sandshrew was barely thirty centimeters long.  
Its eyes were a very deep shade of dark blue, almost black.  
The majority of its body was yellow, its rough skin divided into a brick-shaped pattern.  
The rest – its soft belly, along with its nose and claws – was white.

Yena finally found her voice back.

"So… you're a Sandshrew, huh…? I've… never seen one before."

She ran her left hand over its rough skin.

"You must be a Ground-type…"

She glanced at Alex, who nodded.

Sandshrew was still holding the fingers of her right hand, clinging to the first person it had seen.

Scout got up, unable to sit still any longer.  
She leaned over Sandshrew, studying the young Pokémon.

She giggled when Sandshrew looked up at her.

"Is Sandshrew a boy? Or a girl?"

Yena lowered her shoulders, looking baffled.

"I honestly don't know, Scout…"

Fortunately, Sandshrew answered her question, by nodding at Scout.  
Scout's hand gently touched Sandshrew's head.

"You're a girl?"

The Pokémon nodded again, and Scout laughed, jumped up.

"I solved it! It's a girl!"

Yena looked amazed.

"But Sandshrew only just hatched…! Can she understand what we're saying?"

Alex spoke up.

"Baby Pokémon are not like human babies.  
They can understand us from the moment they hatch."

Chase scraped his throat.

"The Pokéball, Yena…?"

"Oh, right…!"

She held up the empty Pokéball.

"You must be tired, Sandshrew… You'll be able to rest for a while in this Pokéball…"

She tapped Sandshrew's forehead with the Pokéball, and the Pokémon disappeared from the blanket.  
The Pokéball quickly gave a clicking noise, confirming Sandshrew's capture.

Yena looked around at the others, holding the Pokéball to her heart.

"This is really special. I've seen Pokémon eggs hatch on tv, but this was different…"

Alex grinned, looking quite cheerful.

"Congratulations."

Oshawott climbed on Yena's lap, and she put her hand on his head.

"You'll have to look out for Sandshrew, Oshawott… Like a big brother?"

The water-Pokémon nodded, and put his little paws on the Pokéball to strenghten his promise.  
Munna lowered herself so she was leaning against Yena's shoulder, letting her owner know she would protect the new addition to their team as well.

...

The weather was changing.

Yena's light jacket had often been unnecessary at the start of her journey, but she was glad she was wearing it, now that the wind was gaining in strength and clouds were gathering in the sky.

Autumn was approaching fast.

She had kept her blue jacket closed as she made her way through Nacrene City, and the strange looks she had received while walking through the streets had made her smile. She sighed happily as warm air greeted her when she opened the door to Nacrene Museum with her left hand, while her right hand was undoing the buttons on her jacket one by one.

Alex followed her inside, grinning as Sandshrew's small head popped out of Yena's jacket.  
The young Pokémon had been happy to curl up against Yena's warm body, protected from the wind.

_"Saaaa…"_

Sandshrew's claws provided her with enough grip to climb up to Yena's shoulder, where she held on to the side of Yena's face to stay in balance.  
Happy to have such a high vantage point, Sandshrew curiously studied her surroundings.  
At one week old, Sandshrew had turned into quite a lively little Pokémon, ready to play at any given time.

She had been quick to bond with Scout and Zigzagoon, as they loved a good game of chase, tag or any other activity that consumed a lot of energy.  
But Yena was the one she ran to when something spooked her, or curled up against when she finally had enough of playing.

Alex had been surprisingly helpful in the first couple of days of Sandshrew's life, providing very useful insights in a baby Pokémon's diet, and other needs.  
Yena had happily accepted any advise he gave her, and even if Alex' understanding of things puzzled her a little bit, she was glad to have found something that interested him.

She was also feeling quite relieved to be away from Chase's watchful eye for a moment.

In the time that she and Alex would be challenging Nacrene City's gymleader, he was taking Scout to a playground next to the Pokémon Daycare on Route 3. Yena felt like she had learned a lot from the red-haired man already, but his comments on the mysterious, unknown events that would occur at Castelia City made her nervous. He refused to tell them more about it, but occassionally reminded them of the fact that they should hurry up and challenge the gym.

Alex' voice pulled her back into the present.

"Didn't Lenora say we should visit the library at the back of the gym?"

She nodded absently. Then, making herself focus on the task at hand, she looked at her companion.

"She also said something about solving riddles. Let's go and see what she meant."


	20. Counterbalanced: 20

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 20**

The library at the back of the Nacrene Museum was immense.  
Shelves, crammed with books, reached up to the ceiling.  
The only sounds to be heard were the soft whispers of other people in the library, and sometimes, ladders being moved from one side of a shelf to another, as someone needed a book from the very top.

Yena could hear Sandshrew sniff near her ear – the Pokémon was curiously smelling the air around them.  
She followed her Pokémon's example, and breathed in deep.

"I just love the smell of books. They should make a perfume out of it."

Alex was still standing on the doorsill.  
His hands were in his pockets, and his shoulders were pulled up.

"So that everyone will smell like dust and mold? Lovely, great idea."

His eyes went over the library's walls.

"…So where's the entrance to the gym supposed to be?"

Yena looked around as well.

"Let's go and ask that lady over there…"

There was a friendly woman sitting behind a desk, near the library's entrance.  
She looked up as the two trainers approached her, and smiled as she spotted the Pokémon on Yena's shoulder.

"Hello. Can I help you?"

Yena returned the smile.

"Yes, please. We'd like to challenge Lenora, but we heard something about riddles…?"

The lady nodded.

"That's right. If you want to have a battle with the gym leader, you'll have to find the entrance.  
I'm not allowed to tell you where it is, but I can give you the first clue. Would you like to hear it…?"

Alex sighed at the question, and had to work hard to suppress the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yeees…?"

The lady leaned forward, as if she was revealing a secret.

"Look for the next clue in a book about… a musical instrument…"

Alex angrily gestured at the walls, covered with books.

"There have to be over a billion books here…! How are we supposed to-…"

He stopped talking as Yena took his arm.

"Calm down, Alex… I don't think that was the whole clue yet."

The lady behind the desk was observing them quietly, and continued her sentence after a couple of seconds.

"…A musical instrument, that is said to wake up sleeping Pokémon. Good luck."

Yena thanked the woman, looked around, and pointed at a poster at the side of a book shelf.

"I think we can narrow down our search there, that poster seems to have some useful information on it."

The poster proved to be convenient indeed.  
It had some kind of colored map on it, and each color showed where a certain theme could be found, such as history, geography, information on Pokémon species, battle tactics and items.

Yena placed her finger on a blue part of the map.

"It says that this is the item-section. Should we look there, or…"

Her finger moved to a different, yellow part on the poster.

"…Or here? It could be about a kind of music, as well."

Alex shifted restlessly.

"I don't know."

Yena cast a sideway glance on him.

"Come on, Alex. You can do better than this. At least _pretend_ to think along."

He shrugged lightly.

"Alright, alright. It's just that…"

He looked away.

"…I don't really know how this works."

"How _what_ works?"

"…When I grew up, I spent most of my time outside, instead of reading dusty old books."

"So you've never been to…"

"…A library. That's right.  
And now that we've established that, can we get on with finding the next clue?  
I'll catch on soon enough, just show me how you do it."

Yena nodded, and pointed at the map again.

"Okay. I think our best guess is the item-section.  
When we get there, we'll probably find that the books are either alphabetically arranged by author or by title, or maybe even by type of item.  
We have a bit of searching to do."

As she led the way to the far-right corner of the library, Alex frowned.

"Wait… How do _you_ even know how a library works?  
You grew up in the smallest of villages, in the middle of nowhere…"

Yena laughed.

"Professor Juniper has quite a collection of books in her laboratory.  
One of my dad's colleagues took pride in making it look like a proper library in there.  
Everyone growing up in Nuvema Town has free access to the books."

"Like you and Quinn…?"

"That's right. I always loved going there, but I mostly read the storybooks… Ah, look…  
Books about potions, dolls, Xtransceivers… We're at the right place."

Alex tilted his head, reading a couple of book titles.

"How about this one...? '_Healing items – for any ailment'…_"

Yena looked over his shoulder.

"I think we could probably find some information in there on a musical instrument that wakes up sleeping Pokémon…  
But I think she said that it should be a book _specifically_ about that item."

Alex took a step back, squinting his eyes as he looked up at the countless books on the shelves.

"We don't even know what kind of instrument she's talking about…"

Yena thought for a moment.

"You know, the book you found could come in handy."

She pulled the book from its shelf, and turned around to a table behind them.

"Let's sit down here…"

They both leaned on the table as they scanned the index.  
Yena was the first one to find something useful. Her finger pointed out one specific word.

"Look… Under the heading _'Sleep'_… It says _'Music'_…"

She pulled an invisible line to the right, to where the page numbers were listed.

"Page 65…"

As soon as she reached page 65, Alex pointed at a picture in the corner of the page.

"There! Looks like some kind of flute…"

After studying the page more closely, they learned that Pokémon could quickly be woken up from even the deepest of sleeps, by the tones from a blue flute, made out of volcanic ash. Playing the instrument yourself, or simply putting on a recording of its music, gave the same result.

Alex sat back.

"Okay. So… A book on something called the Blue Flute."

...

They found a bright, pink note in the book _'Blue Flute – The Awakening'_.  
It had a similar riddle scribbled down on it, so they returned to the library map, figuring out where to go.  
As Alex had predicted, he caught up with the search system in the library soon.  
And to Yena's delight, he gained on enthusiasm as he solved a couple of riddles on his own, without consulting the Pokémon encyclopedia.

They went from _'A 1000 Facts About Farfetch'd'_ to _'Pokéblocks or Poffins?'_.  
A small note in _'Flying your Fearow'_ directed them to _'The Adventures of Billy Blitzle'_.  
It went on for a while, but finally, the bright, green note in _'The Year of the Yamask'_ had a promising message for them:

_'Challengers: This is the last riddle. Find the next book, and you'll find me.  
_- _Lenora._

An extraordinary piece of architecture.  
It lies east of Nimbasa City.'

Yena carefully put the green piece of paper back in _'The Year of the Yamask'_, then placed the book back on the shelf.  
After doing so, she reached up and tickled Sandshrew, hoping the young Pokémon would let go of her hair.  
Sandshrew loved sitting on Yena's head, but always managed to get tangled up.

After removing the giggling Pokémon from it, she turned her head to Alex.

"I think we should look for the answer to the last riddle on a map of Unova…?"

But Alex shook his head.

"We don't need to. I know the answer to this one. It's the Marvelous Bridge."

Yena was impressed.

"Oh! I haven't even heard of that name before…! Have you ever been there?"

Alex rolled his eyes.

"I never crossed it. But not because of the lack of trying. I actually wasn't allowed on there."

"Not allowed by…?"

"My parents."

He looked away, and Yena changed the subject.

"So a book on the Marvelous Bridge… Let's take a look at the library overview, okay?"

...

They discovered a copy of _'Truly Marvelous!'_ where the pages had been cut out, and replaced by a big, red button.  
After exchanging excited looks with Alex, Yena pressed the button.

Both Yena and Alex jumped as the bookshelf in front of them started to move back, accompanied by creaking noises.  
The hole in the ground was lit by a series of lamps, revealing wooden stairs that led to a lower room.

Alex grinned, thrilled to have found a secret passageway.  
Without hesitation, he started to follow the stairs down, to where they'd find Lenora.

"Let's go, Yena. We have a battle to win."


	21. Counterbalanced: 21

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 21**

Alex breathed out slowly, anxiously awaiting the referee's decision.  
After a moment, the man held out his right hand, towards Alex.

"Watchog is unable to continue this fight! I hereby declare Alex Zenouveau to be the winner of this battle!  
He has officially earned the Basic Badge, along with 2400 Pokédollars! Congratulations!"

Alex grinned.

"Well done, Tauros!"

Alex was nearly knocked over as the large, brown Pokémon happily shoved him.  
Zigzagoon, completely exhausted from his part of the battle, was sitting at his feet, and barked.  
After regaining his balance, Alex crouched down, scratching Zigzagoon behind its ears.

"You did really good as well, Zigzagoon. I don't think we would've had any chance against Herdier without you."

Lenora's voice sounded from across the battlefield.

"Congratulations, Alex. That was an excellent battle."

She held out a Pokéball, and her Watchog returned to it in a flash of red light.

"I will officially hand over your well-deserved badge soon, but first… I'll have to battle your friend."

The tall woman looked at Yena, who was beaming at both her and Alex from the sidelines.

"Our battle will start after I put my Pokémon through the Speed Recovery machine.  
They'll be ready to face you in ten minutes."

"This is an official gym battle between the gym leader Lenora, and the challenger, Yena Zenouveau.  
You will each use two Pokémon.  
The battle is over when your Pokémon are unable to continue fighting, or when one of the trainers gives up. If these rules are clear, the battle may commence!"

Yena threw a glance to the sidelines.

Alex was leaning against the wall.  
He had returned Zigzagoon and Tauros to their Pokéballs, leaving Sandshrew as his only companion to watch her battle with.  
Her young Pokémon was currently hanging from the lower end of Alex' sweater, trying to crawl inside like she had done with Yena.

Alex rolled his eyes at Sandshrew's attempts, then caught Yena looking at him, and grinned.  
But when the Pokémon almost succeeded, sticking her head under his shirt, he grabbed her, holding the protesting Pokémon in his arms instead.

His eyes went back to Yena.  
He nodded with a determined look on his face, wishing her a good battle.

And Yena was ready – she already had the first Pokéball in her hand.  
As it opened, Munna appeared in front of her.  
The Pokémon swirled around.

_"Mu-Muuuu…!"_

Lenora's voice sounded from the other side of the battlefield.

"If your Pokémon is just as strong as it is cute, I'm in for a difficult battle!"

Her teal hair danced as Nacrene City's gymleader threw her own Pokéball out on the grounds.  
It bounced once, then opened – Herdier appeared with a growl, immediately eyeing the pink Pokémon in front of him.

Yena studied the dog-like Pokémon for a moment.

"I've seen your Herdier fight against Zigzagoon. He's really strong…  
But we'll do our best to defeat him, won't we, Munna?"

The referee held up his arm.

"Trainers and Pokémon! Get ready! The battle for the Basic Badge starts… now!"

Alex struggled to keep a good grip on Sandshrew.

The baby Pokémon had started to squeal and cry out to Yena from the moment the battle had started, intimidated by the show of force, and not quite as comfortable around Alex as she was with Yena. But as having Sandshrew run across the battlefield was potentially disastrous, Alex refused to let the struggling Pokémon go. Too nervous to watch the battle unfolding in front of them, Sandshrew finally gave up, and rolled herself into a tight ball.

Alex sighed of relief, and looked up again, discovering he had missed the start of the battle.

The Pokémon were now circling around eachother fast. As he watched, Munna glowed for a moment, then fired off a bright, multi-colored beam from her forehead. The Psybeam attack scratched Herdier's coat for a moment, but missed its target for the most part.

A quick command from Lenora – Herdier jumped back at Munna, its mouth open, its fangs clearly visible.  
But there was no need to worry. Almost all the battles Alex and Yena had practised, had involved Zigzagoon's sharp teeth.

Routinely, Munna went up in the air, now hovering higher than usual.

Herdier's teeth never reached her - as soon as Herdier passed below her, she dropped down, knocked her opponent down to the ground.  
This unconventional attack was something Yena and Munna had come up with together.  
The pink Pokémon was quick to execute the attack independently, and required no command from her owner.

Herdier barked shortly as he hit the ground, and quickly scrambled away from Munna.  
Alex could tell how Lenora was assessing the situation.

"Herdier, don't be discouraged. We still have our trump card… Use your Shadow Ball attack!"

Alex mind was racing – Lenora had not used this move when Herdier fought Zigzagoon.  
If this was her strongest move, she surely would've tried it, if it would've had any effect at all…  
But now, with a Psychic-type Pokémon as her opponent…

"Yena, watch out for that attack!"

Yena immediately responded to his warning.

"Munna, stay on the move! Don't let that attack hit you!"

Herdier had opened his mouth, and a dark ball of energy was forming in front of it.  
When it was fired off, the purple orb moved through the air incredibly fast – missing the swirling, pink Pokémon by an inch.

Lenora called out, from her side of the battlefield:

"Again! Try it again!"

Herdier's Shadow Ball attacks were now cast towards Munna in quick succession, and the Psychic Pokémon had to move in a zigzag to avoid being hit by them.

Yena was trying hard to come up with a plan.

"Munna! Keep going, you're doing great!  
Try to use your Psybeam attack, whenever you can!"

It was quite a spectacular sight – the dark purple balls of energy going to one side, and bright rays of light to the other.  
Both Pokémon were moving fast, dodging attacks and firing off their own at the same time. It was only a matter of time before one of them got hit…

…Then, a terrible, high-pitched squeal.

Munna flew back through the gym as she was struck by one of the dark balls of energy.  
The Pokémon crashed into the wall behind Lenora, then fell to the ground with a thud.

Munna, unable to even levitate, just moved around on the ground, powerless.

A moment of silence followed, where Yena had frozen on the spot, her mouth covered by her hand, her eyes wide.

The referee was quick to conclude:

"Munna is unable to continue the fight. Please use another Pokémon."

His words called Yena back to reality.  
Shakily, she held out her Pokéball.

"Come back, Munna!"

A red beam shot from the object in her hand, returning the defeated Pokémon to it.  
Then, with more force this time, she threw out Oshawott's Pokéball on the battlefield.

"Let's go, Oshawott!"

The otter-like Pokémon appeared in front of Herdier, looking ferocious.  
Munna's defeat made Oshawott focus on winning against Herdier, no matter what – the Pokémon breathed in deep, completely concentrating on the battle at hand, and ready to do its best.

So when Herdier jumped forward, it took just a fraction of a second for Oshawott to remove the seashell from its stomach.  
And maybe it was because dodging Munna's Psybeam attacks had made Herdier tired, but the dog-Pokémon was too late to see Oshawott's shell coming – the scalchop slashed across his face mercilessly.

Blood dripped down on the floor as Herdier stumbled backwards, whining loudly, and clearly in pain.  
Oshawott's shell had cut deeply into his nose, and the wound was bleeding badly.

Lenora made the decision, without waiting for the referee.

"That's enough, Herdier. Come back."

Red light enveloped the Pokémon, and he disappeared from the battlefield.

As Lenora held up her next Pokéball, she locked eyes on Yena.

"Your Oshawott seems ready for a good battle. I won't hold back."

Lenora's Watchog looked remarkably fresh and ready for battle, considering he had been trampled by Alex' Tauros less than an hour ago.  
Standing tall, the Pokémon closely studied Oshawott with its strange, red and yellow eyes.

Oshawott did its best to hold on to its focus, trying to hide just how much he was intimidated by Watchog's strict gaze.  
He made sure the shell was secured well as he put it back on his stomach.

Yena made the first move.

"Oshawott, let's see how fast Watchog can move… Water Gun!"

She had observed Watchog fight Tauros from the sidelines, and noticed how he preferred to stay upright, just on its feet, instead of using his paws to run as well. So when Oshawott blasted a strong jet of water towards the meerkat-like Pokémon, Watchog jumped away, just using its hind legs.

"Faster, Oshawott! You can do this!"

It had been a wise bit of judgement from Yena.  
Soon, Watchog got tired of jumping aside, and was partially hit by Oshawott's attacks over and over again, and losing energy quick.

Lenora had seen enough.

"Watchog, go ahead and use your Thunderbolt attack!"

Watchog's cheeks released some sparks of electricity, and soon the current moved through its entire body.  
As soon as his whole body was surrounded by the clear, yellow electricity, Watchog sent a spark flying towards his opponent.

Oshawott yelped as he threw himself aside, out of harm's way.

The endless practise battles with Alex and Chase paid off, as the little water-Pokémon danced around, dodging Watchog Thunderbolt attack again.  
Every time he managed to avoid getting hit by the electricity, Oshawott's confidence grew.  
At one point, he even spared a moment to look back at Yena, to show her he was ready for her next command.  
Then, he jumped away again, causing Watchog to growl in frustration as his attack missed again.

Yena felt incredibly proud of her agile Pokémon, but was wrecking her brain at the same time.

A water-type attack was out of the picture now, obviously.  
Oshawott's Tackle was also quite strong, but he'd surely get shocked before even reaching Watchog…  
And to use his Razor Shell attack, he'd also have to get quite close…

Or… Wait…

Yena lifted her head, as she came up with a plan.

"Oshawott! Try to get a good hold of your shell when you get the chance…!"

Lenora's light teal eyes went from Yena to Oshawott.

"Keep going, Watchog… Don't give Oshawott the time to arm himself…"

But Oshawott had jumped back, away from its opponent, creating more space between them.  
Now the Thunderbolt attack took a little longer to reach him, giving him some extra time.

In one moment between attacks, Oshawott routinely pulled the seashell from his belly again, simply holding it while he leaped to the left to dodge the next electric blast.

Yena quickly gave him his next command.

"Get ready, Oshawott… Throw your shell at Watchog…! _Now…_!"

Oshawott hesitated for a moment, having never practised this before.  
Then he spun around, letting go of his precious scalchop.  
The seashell soared through the air for a moment, before scratching Watchog's side.  
The meerkat-like Pokémon abruptly lost its concentration when he was hit, crying out in surprise, and the electricity disappearing from its body.

Yena called out to her Pokémon:

"Now _go_, Oshawott! _Tackle!_"

Sandshrew stretched out as soon as Alex handed her to Yena.  
The young Pokémon climbed to her owner's shoulder, hugging the side of Yena's face.

Lenora smiled, and reached out to scratch Sandshrew's tough skin.

"Your Pokémon must be happy to have such a talented master."

She reached into a pocket on her apron, offering the content to Yena and Alex.

"Congratulations, both of you."

The Basic Badge was a long, thin rectangle.  
The inside of the shape was a deep shade of purple, the outlines were golden, along with three thin, horizontal lines.  
Alex was the first one to recognise the shape.

"It's like the spine of a book…"

Lenora grinned.

"I couldn't resist designing it like that, after putting every trainer that comes here through all those puzzles…"

Yena and Alex were greeted by Chase and Scout the moment they stepped outside.  
Chase was looking displeased.

"You two took your time. At least tell me you both got a badge?"

When the two nodded, he sighed.

"Well, that's good."

He gestured at the darkening sky.

"But the time of day is not. We have Pinwheel Forest to pass through.  
Not a festive place in the dark.  
And I advise against crossing the Skyarrow Bridge in the dead of the night, too."

"So…"

He clapped his hands once, a move that was instantly copied by both Scout and Sandshrew.

"…We'll go to sleep early, and leave for Castelia City at dawn."


	22. Counterbalanced: 22

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 22**

The nearby campfire was keeping her comfortably warm.  
The soft breathing of Scout, sleeping next to her, was calming.  
She knew she should be asleep, but she wasn't.

Yena opened her eyes as she heard Alex, on the other side of Scout, sigh and sit up.  
Seemed like she wasn't the only one still awake.

Just as she rolled over to look at him, Yena could see Alex get to his feet, silently and carefully placing his feet as he walked away from them.  
He disappeared out of sight within seconds, as the only source of light was the small fire.

Yena waited for him to come back, staring up at the sky, hoping the dark clouds would part for a moment, and show her the stars.  
But minutes went by, and neither Alex, nor the stars appeared.

Yena sat up, staring through the trees and listening intently.

Nothing.

She looked down at Scout, who had curled up around her yellow bag.  
Chase was also sleeping nearby, on his back.  
Yena could easily imagine him waking up, and getting right to his feet at the first sign of danger.  
But now, the red-haired man was sound asleep.

Yena sat there for another five minutes, before she finally got up and made her way through the trees.

...

If he hadn't said anything, she would've walked right past him.

"Here, Yena."

His voice sounded a bit different.

Alex was sitting down, his back against one of the trees, his shoulders pulled up, just staring into the darkness.  
He moved aside as Yena quietly joined him.

After a moment, Yena broke the silence.

"…So you couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"No…"

He breathed in deep, but did so quite shakily.  
Yena waited.

Alex pulled up his legs, then put his arms around them.  
He was looking away from her as he whispered:

"I'm so nervous, Yena…"

Yena had been thinking about the next couple of days as well, but by the look of things,  
didn't feel anywhere near as tense as Alex.

"…About going to Castelia City?"

He nodded, and his voice got a little steadier as he talked:

"I didn't expect us both to get our badges on the first try…  
We're leaving sooner than I thought…  
On the one side… I really want to show you the place.  
This might sound strange, but the city's like an amazing, massive forest.  
Places to climb on, little alleys to explore… But on the other side…"

He hesitated.

"…There's that message Chase passed on to me, from Ada."

"About something important that's about to happen?"

He looked at her for a moment, and even in the dark, Yena was sure she saw fear flash across his face.

"…What are you afraid of, Alex?"

She had to wait for the answer to her question for a while.  
But when Alex spoke up, the sound of panic in his voice confirmed her earlier observation.

His words came out in an incoherent fashion.  
Yena suddenly felt like he was talking to himself, more than to her, as if he was continuing his own inner conversation, from before Yena had shown up.

"The only_ important_ thing I can think of… I don't know how, I haven't told…  
If someone found out… But how can they…  
They've always thought so anyway, made the same mistake…"

He got to his feet fast, turning to Yena, his eyes wide.

"I'm _caught_, Yena…"

"…Caught?"

"In a web of lies. One I built around myself... It's so complicated, sometimes…  
But it's the only thing keeping me up…"

He shook his head.

"What if Ada meant… I can't just return to my old self, I just can't. I don't want to…"

Yena got up as well, trying to calm her friend down.  
He didn't seem to really realise she was there anymore, until she grabbed both of his arms.

She looked into his dark eyes as she stated:

"Maybe you should wait panicking until you actually talk to Ada herself?  
But if it bothers you so much, then you can tell me, Alex.  
Really, I won't run away after hearing it, and if you don't want me to, I won't tell anyone else.  
You'll see that the truth it's not so bad, once you share it with someone."

He seriously considered her for a moment, then pulled himself from her grip, backing away.

"I can't… I don't want to pull you into this mess, Yena."

Before she could stop him, he turned around and hurried back to the camp.

...

Alex avoided to even look at her all through breakfast, taking on time-consuming tasks, such as cleaning up the ashes from their campfire, and refilling all water bottles from a nearby stream. When they eventually left, Alex stayed close to Chase, quietly walking alongside the older man.

Yena was left with Scout, and listened half-heartedly to the girl's enthusiastic chatter about her best friends from the Gray Guardians in Castelia City, while keeping an eye on Chase and Alex in front of them at the same time.

The two had set quite a steady pace, which Scout could hardly keep up with.

As a result, the distance between them had soon grown to an extent that she couldn't hear what they were talking about anymore.  
But there was definitely some conversation between them going on.  
Yena could see the argument happening as she observed them:

The first thirty minutes of their journey out of Nacrene City had been quiet, but as they reached Pinwheel Forest, Yena could see Chase turning his head to Alex, asking or telling him something. Alex responded immediately, talking loudly, as Yena could hear his angry tone of voice from where she was walking.

It went on for a while – but Yena could finally observe Chase in his makeshift father-role:  
Chase's strict and composed way of talking eventually calmed down Alex.

Pinwheel Forest stretched out as far as she could look, and she would've loved to venture out on the various little paths leading away from the main road, breathing in the fresh air as she went. She suspected Alex of feeling the same way, as she could see him peering through the trees longingly.

But Chase, showing the way, never led them from the asphalted road, that went straight through the center of Pinwheel Forest.  
As the end of the forest came into view, Yena had only seen glimpses of the area's Pokémon, thanks to Scout's sharp eyes, who pointed them out to her.

Yena had just crouched down to Scout's level, as the girl had spotted a couple of white, puffy Pokémon floating through the trees together.  
She jumped as Alex suddenly appeared by her side, his voice sounding quite flat.

"It's a group of Cottonee."

Chase was still standing where Alex had left him, and Yena felt like the man had won the argument, sending Alex over to her.  
The messy-haired youth looked at Scout.

"Chase asks if you want to join him."

Scout nodded, and ran over to Chase, immediately pointing out the Cottonee to him.  
Yena waited until the little girl was out of earshot.

"Are you okay?"

He shrugged, pulling up his shoulders.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever."

Yena glanced at him as they walked down the last part of the road.  
His whole body language had changed since the last time they talked – his eyes stared into the distance, and his expression was completely neutral, almost indifferent. As he caught her looking at him, he nodded at where they were heading.

"Skyarrow Bridge."

...

No matter how worried she felt about Alex, Skyarro wBridge took Yena's breath away.

The upper half of the SkyarrowBridge was meant for pedastrians, the lower half was reserved for vehicle traffic.  
The inspiration for its elegant name was easily found – two supportive spans reached up high into the sky.  
The constant rumbling of the cars and trucks travelling down the bridge could occassionally be heard over the rustling trees of Pinwheel Forest. And in the far distance, on the other side of the water, she could see Castelia City's skyscrapers.

"Wow! I can't believe how beautiful it is…!  
Imagine designing and building a bridge like that!"

Alex, standing at her side, simply shrugged.  
But when Chase gave him an displeased glance, he reluctantly added:

"If you're impressed by that, you'll be blown away by Castelia City."

...

It took them quite a while to cross Skyarrow Bridge.

As they got closer to Castelia City, the number of posters, or any other form of advertisement, increased dramatically - the most popular dance clubs, a new brand of cigarettes, written challenges from the Battle Company and announcements of some concerts on Central Plaza.

Most of these colorful posters were not noticed by Yena.

Her attention was caught up in Alex' behavior, and she felt like she was watching a movie rewind – the closer they got to the city, the more he changed back into the restless, skittish young man she had met in Nuvema Town. He got so stressed out at one point, that Chase had to grab his arm, hold him still and talk to him for a good five minutes before they were able to go on.  
But even after he had calmed down a little, he kept frowning, sometimes standing still to stare at one of the posters.

But whenever Yena tried to discover what particular advertisement bothered him so much, he cursed at no one in particular, and insisted on moving on.

All these things made that, when they finally passed through the western gate of the Skyarrow Bridge, Yena did not only have tired legs and feet, but was also affected by Alex' nerves. Her throat seemed to tighten as Chase pointed north through the incredible amount of buildings, and stated:

"Before anything else, we'll introduce you to Ada, Yena."


	23. Counterbalanced: 23

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 23**

Yena felt like her head was spinning.  
From passing through countless streets and alleys, that all looked the same to her.  
From the numerous people rushing by, some of them accompanied by Pokémon she'd never seen before.  
From the incredible amount of strange scents and sounds, some fleeting, some strong.

Yena also felt increasingly amazed as she observed her three companions, finding their way through the concrete maze without even hesitating once.  
More and more convinced that, if they left her here, she'd never find her way out of Castelia City again, she clinged to Scout's hand like a lifeline.

Suddenly, Chase turned around, coming to a complete halt at once.  
He looked at Yena as he announced:

"We're getting close."

Chase went through his pockets, soon pulling out two gray pieces of cloth.  
He threw one of them at Yena. As she caught it, she discovered it to be a long, rough ribbon.

"Let Scout tie it around your upper arm."

He pointed up.

"It's for the sentries."

Yena looked up immediately, but saw nothing unusual.  
Scout giggled, and pulled the blond girl's arm, in preperation of tying the ribbon around it.

"You can only see them if you know where to look, silly!"

Yena was feeling puzzled, and slightly overwhelmed by the thought of being watched.

"Why do I have to wear this, exactly…?"

The answer to her question came from Chase, who was in the process of knotting together the ends of the other ribbon around Alex' upper arm.

"Because they'll know that you're with us. Anyone coming this close to the heart of the Gray Guardians, without any recognisable gray fabrics, will be closely monitored, and distracted if necessary. A ribbon like this around the upper arm means you're a guest. We don't get a lot of those, but every sentry up there knows it."

He redirected his attention at Alex, who had angrily opened his mouth to give a sharp comment.

"Get that look off your face. I know you're not a guest."

He waited a moment, and after Alex managed a more neutral expression, he explained:

"You're not wearing gray, so the ribbon's necessary. Two new kids arrived in the time you were away, so they don't know you yet.  
Maybe they don't have sentry duty today, but I don't want any misunderstandings."

...

The deeper they went into CasteliaCity's maze of alleys, the more glimpses Yena caught of children wearing at least one piece of gray clothing.  
Most of them happily greeted the group, curiously studying Yena as she passed by.

Wanting to know more about the Gray Guardians, Yena observed them right back.  
The children's ages varied greatly - from roughly four to an estimated sixteen years old.  
She sometimes spotted older kids with one or two toddlers by the hand, cheerfully talking to them as they walked.  
If Yena had expected to find neglected or unruly children, she didn't see any of them.  
They looked cheerful enough, and weren't just hanging around – most of the kids they met were passing by, carrying light bags or letters.

With the tall buildings towering over them, the sun had little chance of actually reaching the pavement.  
Chills ran down Yena's spine as the autumn wind forcefully blew right through her light jacket.  
She wasn't feeling very comfortable anymore, and part of her wished she could just go back, and get warm in a Pokécenter, where everything was safe and familiar.

But one look at Alex, who was walking in front of her, convinced her to carry on.

She was determined to help him in some way or another, and finding out more about this mysterious organisation seemed like a good point to start at.  
As she looked at Alex' back, she noticed how his shoulders were pulled up, and how he was clenching his fists, then relaxing them again, in an attempt to stay calm. She was just considering speeding up her pace to walk alongside of him when Chase gestured at a nearby door.

"Through here."

...

Yena couldn't contain a silent sigh of relief.  
So this was Ada.  
In the middle of a spacious room, there was an old lady, gracefully sitting on a couple of pillows.

Made of soft fabrics, the kimono she was wearing gradually went from the lightest of yellow at the top, to either a darker shade of green at the end of its sleeves, or white around the legs. The obi around her waist was bright red. Her hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, leaving only a few strands of hair to fall down at the sides of her face.

Alert, green eyes and a warm smile greeted Yena as the blond girl stepped into the room.

Yena wasn't sure how to properly greet the older lady, but her awkwardness dissolved as Scout rushed by and fell into her grandmother's arms, hugging her tightly. Ada's expression was so loving as she held her granddaughter, that Yena instinctively stepped closer to the woman.

Ada looked up at her, smiled, and gestured at a pile of cushions on her left.  
Her voice was very clear as she spoke:

"Please, make yourself comfortable. You're cold and tired."

Her slightly wrinkled hands went through Scout's hair, and she kissed the girl's forehead.

"I'll see you again soon, dear. For now, go with Chase.  
He'll make you some hot chocolate, if you ask nicely."

She winked at the red-haired man, who nodded at both Yena and Alex to say goodbye, and left the building with Scout at his side.  
Silence returned to the room, as Yena pulled a couple of pillows from the pile, and spread them across the floor, for her and Alex to sit on.

Finally, Yena took her place at a respectful distance from the elderly woman.  
But Ada was no longer watching her.

The gray-haired lady stretched out her arms, beckoning Alex to come closer.  
After a moment, he stepped away from the wall he had been leaning against, taking Ada's hands.  
She pulled him down, onto some pillows on her right.  
Then she proceeded to go through his hair with her fingers, as she had done with Scout.

"Chase scared you with my message."

One of her hands went to his shoulder.

"You can relax now."

Yena was amazed as Ada's words had an immediate effect on Alex.  
His shoulders went down, and he sighed, as if the warmth of the room had only just reached him.  
As he shifted among the pillows, to find a more comfortable sitting position, Ada's gaze went back at Yena.  
The girl suddenly remembered her manners. Just to be on the safe side, she made a small bow.

"My name is Yena Zenouveau. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A smile was her reward.

"You're a polite and pleasant girl.  
As you know, my name is Ada. I welcome you.  
You may stay for as long as you like."

Next to Ada, Alex was looking at and listening to their words intently.  
His hands had found a cushion with decorative beads stitched on it, and were currently plucking at them without giving it much thought.

"Thank you, that's very nice of you."

Green eyes studied her.

"You have a lot of questions."

Yena hesitated, and Ada continued:

"You will find answers during your stay here."

Her attention went back to Alex.  
Ada put one of her hands on the side of his face before talking to him.

"You will not like hearing this."

Alex immediately tensed up again, his hands now clenching the cushion.  
Yena almost forgot to breathe as Ada concentrated for a moment, then spoke.

"These are the things that I've been told…  
_You will be meeting him.  
You will embrace or push away.  
You will face truth and lies.  
And in the end, you'll have no choice but to trust._"

A moment of silence.  
Alex got to his feet, and backed away, his eyes wide.

"You're right…"

His voice was strained.

"…I don't like what you're saying."

He clenched his fists, and Yena saw something in his eyes that came close to despair.  
Ada was watching him sympathetically.

"When you first arrived here, you insisted on hearing everything that was told about you.  
You were old enough to understand that this includes unhappy times."

Frustrated, Alex rushed at the door, but turned around at the last moment.  
He bowed stiffly as he asked:

"Permission to leave?"

Yena hadn't moved from her place on the soft pillows as she watched the conversation in front of her unfold, but yelped in shock as something, in the corner of the room, that she had presumed to be a colorful statue, suddenly started moving.

All eyes went directly at the strange-looking creature, as it was was moving its wings up and down.  
It took Yena a couple of seconds to realise that this was actually a Pokémon, and that there were three more of them, each one in a different corner of the room.

They were four green birds, with long, white wings.  
The patterns on his body were black, red and yellow.  
As Yena studied them, she noticed that one of them had three yellow stripes to decorate its body, instead of two.  
But for now, only one was moving. The others remained motionless, simply staring at the center of the room, where Ada was sitting.

As the bird stopped moving, Ada turned back to Alex.

"I see. You may leave. Lily is waiting outside.  
Please send her in, on your way out."

Unnerved, Alex stared at the mysterious Pokémon for another couple of seconds, then slowly nodded, and left the room.

...

Yena got up from her little nest of cushions.  
Not sure whether she was supposed to go after Alex, or stay in this room with Ada, she just stood around, looking back and forth between the four Pokémon and their presumed owner.

Ada smiled.

"You're confused. And you're wondering what kind of Pokémon they are.  
…But that is a problem you can solve by yourself."

Encouraged by Ada's words, Yena nodded, and got out her Pokédex, pointing it at the bird-Pokémon that had moved.  
The metallic voice that came from the machine seemed out of place in the room's almost magical ambiance.

_'Xatu, the Mystic Pokémon. Xatu is said to be able to foretell the future with a high degree of accuracy.  
It is said that its right eye sees the future, and its left eye views the past.'_

"Foretelling the future…"

Yena felt chills running down her spine. The idea of knowing what was coming was overwhelming.

"From time to time, these four will let me know what the future holds.  
This includes small foretellings, like tomorrow's weather, and life-changing events…"

Ada's green eyes looked up at Yena.

"…such as the one you just heard."

Yena felt like she could understand Alex' nerves about going back to Castelia City a bit better.

"It sounded… bad. Can Alex change anything about what's coming, now that he heard your words?"

Ada looked tired.

"Alex will make a serious attempt to do just that, but it will do more damage than good."

"How about me…? Can I do anything to make it better…?"

Her wrinkled hand stretched out at Yena.  
As she held it, Ada told her:

"Follow your instincts, dear."

Then, on a more practical tone, she said:

"My Xatu over there signalled that Alex will be feeling unwell for five days, starting tomorrow.  
Why don't you explore Castelia City with Lily in that timeframe?"

Ada's other hand gestured at the door opening, and Yena discovered a girl had come in.  
She had been pacing back and forth in the back of the room, waiting impatiently, until her she heard her name.

Lily seemed to be only one or two years younger than Yena. She was dressed in all shades of gray, ranging from white to pitchblack.  
The color of her hair was exceptionally light, and contrasted greatly with the black rose hairpin that was decorating the side of her head.

The girl grinned, and Yena could tell that her pacing had not been a lack of manners, but a matter of abundant energy.

Lily came forward to shake Yena's hand.

"Hello! It's nice to see a new face! I'm looking forward to giving you the grand tour of our lovely city.  
But for now, I'll just show you where our unit resides."

Lily made a graceful bow to Ada.

"I left Tommy and Cassandra with just Morgan to supervise them, and Alex didn't look like he was going straight home when he passed me by, so…  
I should go back. Permission to leave?"

Ada nodded, and Lily hooked her arm into Yena's, as they faced the windy alleys of Castelia City again.

"It's only a five-minute walk, but newcomers always get lost around here.  
The Gray Guardians are split up into units of four or five people, who then share an appartment.  
But the appartments are scattered across this neighbourhood, so it makes sense that it takes everyone forever to find their way around here."

Her lively chattering reminded Yena of Scout, and felt refreshing to her after a day of stress.  
She smiled back at the girl, as Lily grinned proudly.

"In Alex' absence, I did a pretty good job leading our unit.  
Maybe Chase will consider training me to be an official leader!"

"…Is Alex the leader of your unit?"

"That's right. And Chase is the supervisor of all unit leaders.  
I heard you arrived here with Chase, so you know him.  
There's more of a system behind the Gray Guardians than you might think."


	24. Counterbalanced: 24

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 24**

It took a while for Alex to calm down.

He had been running at first.

But after his lungs had started protesting, he reluctantly resorted to just keeping a steady walking pace.  
He had paid little attention to where his feet led him, until he discovered himself standing on Castelia City's wharf.  
Coming to a halt, he looked out over the Cruise Dock pier, while slowly breathing in through his nose, trying to catch his breath.

He had just wanted to get away from things, but now that he was standing here all by himself, he wasn't feeling any better.  
Ada's predictions went through his head again and again, and made him feel like his past was sneaking up on him, waiting for the right moment to pounce.  
He suddenly felt uneasy, standing there in plain sight.

He turned around, and started to make his way back into the city, cursing at himself for being so on edge.

But his swear words turned into a scream as a strong hand grabbed his upper arm, and pulled him aside, into another alley.  
In a reflex, Alex swung his free arm around, and was rewarded by a cracking noise as his fist met his attacker's nose.  
The hand around his arm released him immediately, accompanied by a cry of pain. Alex backed away.

As he recognised the young man in front of him, his feeling of shock was replaced by offense.

"…Who do you think you are, grabbing me like that?!"

Dark brown curls were hanging down the sides of Quinn's face as the young man looked up, still covering his nose with his hand.  
Blood dripped from between his fingers.  
His voice sounded muffled.

"You little-…! You broke my nose!"

"That's what you get for pulling someone into a dark alley!"

Quinn's fingers carefully examined the bridge of his nose, flinching as it hurt.

"Aah… I just wanted to ask you where you're hiding Yena."

Alex folded his arms, the sarcasm in his voice perfectly clear.

"Oh, alright then. I scare the hell out of people too, if I want them to tell me things."

But he quickly backed away as Quinn took three wild steps forward.

"Tell me where she is already! What did you do to her?"

Alex held up his hands.

"I didn't do anything to her! What do yo-…"

His words came to an abrupt end as a thought crossed his mind, and a grin spread across his face.  
Quinn's usually handsome face was now looking quite ugly, as it was covered in blood, and grimaced in pain, anger and confusion.

"What's so funny?"

Alex leaned slightly forward, studying Quinn.

"_You will be meeting him_, hmm…?  
She never specified who I'd be meeting… You could be _him_!"

Alex laughed out loud, purely out of relief.

"I may be alright after all…"

"What are you _talking_ about?!"

Alex shook his head.

"Nevermind. Quinn, I never thought I'd say this, but you made me feel a lot better."

"I don't understa-…"

"Of course you don't. But… I'm leaving now."

He gestured at Quinn's face as he turned around.

"You should probably put some ice on that…"

_"Wait…!"_

He could heard Quinn's enraged voice calling after him as he ran away.  
But Alex knew Castelia City by heart, and disappeared into its maze of alleys within seconds.

...

Alex grinned as he placed his hand on his Pokémon's nose, encouraging him to stand still.

"I'm sorry for demoting you to a petting zoo Pokémon, Tauros.  
I promise I didn't have much of a choice."

Tauros was standing in the middle of the unit's living room, looking very much out of place.  
But Tommy and Cassandra were delighted, stroking his soft manes and feeling the structure of his hooves.  
Lily was also admiring Alex' newest Pokémon, and even dared to feel the sharp tip of its horns.

Yena had nestled on the couch near the window, with Sandshrew curled up and asleep on her lap.  
She was watching the scene with a surprised smile.  
Alex had been in an excellent mood when he returned to the small appartment, even managing to make a good first impression on the young boy and girl, who he had never met, and were new to his unit.

Tauros snorted, causing the children to laugh and jump back.

Lily had told Yena that they assumed Tommy and Cassandra to be twins.  
Not much was known about them, except that they ran away from a regular orphanage after hearing they were going to be split up, and going to live with different families.  
Now a part of the Gray Guardians, their names had been changed, but they were able to stay together.

Tommy was a bit shorter than Cassandra. His hair, the same color as Yena's, was spiky.  
Cassandra's locks were more red than blond, and pulled up into a high, bouncy ponytail.  
Their blue eyes and close bond were the only indication of them being siblings.

Yena's attention shifted to the quiet girl sitting on the other end of the sofa.  
Morgan was older than Tommy and Cassandra, but younger than Lily.

Her dark brown curls stood up at the ends, and her hair had to be pulled down by two yellow hairpins on both sides of her head.  
Lily had informed Yena that Morgan was able to speak, but hardly ever did so.  
The girl had politely shaken Yena's hand upon arrival, but had kept her distance since then, minding her own business.

"Wouldn't you like to pet Tauros as well, Morgan?"

Yena gave her an encouraging smile.

Morgan glanced at the large, brown Pokémon in the middle of the room, then shook her head.

"You don't want to? That's okay."

Yena was about to tell Morgan comforting stories about Tauros to make him seem less intimidating, but something Alex said to Lily made her look up.

"You brought Yena here, right?"

Lily's hair fell over her shoulder as she turned her head to him.

"Uh-huh."

"And you two get along?"

"Sure!"

Alex pointed to where Yena was sitting.

"Then give it back."

Lily pouted.

"…You're no fun at all, Alex."

He insisted.

"There'll be no stealing from Yena."

"I was just going to see how long it took her to notice it was missing…!"

Yena's mouth fell open as Lily carefully manoeuvred around Tauros, and gave back her beloved red Pokédex.

"It's a pretty neat thing."

"That's mine…! How did you…?"

Lily grinned.

"You think I ended up with the Gray Guardians because of my excellent behavior?"

She struck a dramatic pose.

"I'm the best pickpocket you'll ever meet.  
I took that little machine from your backpack five minutes after I met you."

It dawned on Yena that there had to be a special story behind every child she had seen in CasteliaCity so far, and the thought dazzled her.  
She'd probably never get to hear all of them.

Lily pulled a couple of silly faces, making the blond girl laugh.

"Stop that! Now I can't get mad at you for taking it.  
Making things disappear like that… You should be a magician!"

Lily turned around, and picked up Cassandra, who wanted to pet Tauros on the head.

"And conjure a flock of Pidove out of a high hat? Maybe I will, someday."

...

Yena was woken up by Tommy and Cassandra, yelling as they played games, and chased eachother around the living room.  
Lily, who had slept on the top of their bunk bed, mumbled into her pillow:

"They keep doing that. Every. Single. Morning."

But she seemed to pull herself together, because seconds later, her legs appeared over the edge of the bed, dangling there for a moment before she jumped down.  
She called out to the bunk bed near the window, where Morgan and Alex were sleeping.

"Rise and shine, my pretties!  
I heard the little ones get up half an hour ago, so they'll be bugging us for breakfast soon."

Morgan rubbed her face as she sat up, smiled and waved at Yena as she saw the blond girl observing her, and made her way to the bathroom.

But Alex, in the top bed, wasn't so fast.  
He groaned, and pulled the cover over his head.

"…Count me out for today."

Lily placed her hands on her hips.

"…What happened to your good mood? I'd insist you get out of bed, but you're the boss…  
I'm going to make breakfast now."

The white-haired girl went into the living room, and Yena heard her talking to the twins, explaining how loud games were better suited for another time of day.

_'My Xatu over there signalled that Alex will be feeling unwell for five days, starting tomorrow.'_

Yena sat up in her bed, as Ada's words suddenly came back to her.

"…Are you okay, Alex? Can I get you anything?"

He slowly moved around, and one of his eyes peered at her from under the bedding.

"…What did Ada tell you...?"

Yena got up, careful not to bump her head.

"She just mentioned you were going to feel unwell for a couple of days.  
So, what's wrong? How can I help?"

Alex mumbled something before actually speaking up.

"Don't look into it so much. I'll be fine."

...

The following days, Yena really started settling into the Gray Guardians.  
She was meeting new people at an incredible fast rate, and discovered there were more adults in the Gray Guardians than just Chase and Ada – the teachers.

Morning classes were carefully planned, in a way that every child was educated with others of approximately their own age, mostly learning about subjects like they'd have on any school, like history and geography. But not all classes were regular subjects. Yena had taken part in one sentry-training class, but wasn't quite comfortable with the heights, so she visited Chase's famous hide-and-seek training the following time, and actually found it quite pleasant to see a familiar face again.

Afternoon classes had more diverse activities in store, and were optional.  
It was often a case of older kids working together with the teachers to organize dance, craft or singing classes.  
She was invited to join any class she liked, but couldn't quite decide, so she just went with Lily, and had a lot of fun assisting in a dance class for six-year olds.

Talking to people from other units, she learned a little bit more about Alex.

He had arrived two years ago, but immediately started fighting with the boys from the unit he was placed in, taunting their leader again and again.  
Chase had placed him in another unit – same result.  
That's why it had surprised everyone that Chase eventually started to train him to lead his own unit, a mixed one, even.  
But the results had been good.  
The students then shrugged, as that was all they knew about Alex, and Yena changed the subject.

Teachers couldn't tell her much more than she already knew.

Alex was stubborn, and didn't respond well to authority, but had made progress since he was leading his own unit.  
He was intelligent and daring, sometimes scaring even the sentry-training teacher with rash actions.  
He was doing really well in Pokémon-related subjects, and in any training that required agility or stealth.  
When Yena talked to the teacher at the dance class, the woman admitted that she always wished that someday, against all odds, Alex would join her.

"Have you seen him move in Chase's classes? That boy has a natural grace.  
If only his attitude was a little better…"

As the week progressed, Alex got out of bed more often, but stayed at home most of the time.  
He pretended to feel better, but Yena could see how he pressed his hand on his stomach when he thought no one was watching, so she decided to cook the unit meals that were easy to digest, like soup. Lily seemed to be relieved that Yena had taken over the cooking, stating that she was the worst student in the cooking-class.

...

Whether it was because of the good food or something else, Alex got better after five days.

Yena could tell Lily was slightly disappointed.  
The girl had gotten used to her leader-role, and saw some of the routines she built up changed again by Alex as he took back over.  
But Lily wasn't one to dwell on something for long, and soon used her free time to show Yena around Castelia City.

It was nine days after their first arrival in Castelia City.  
Alex got back from a class, just as Yena and Lily were putting on their coats to go out.  
Like the units, the different classes were scattered across the neighbourhood.

Energetic as usual, Lily was quick to ask:

"There are some cool things happening at the Central Plaza…!  
Would you like to go with us, Alex?"

The Central Plaza was a massive park, in the middle of Castelia City.  
People living in the city usually went there to get some sun, and relatively fresh air.

"…That really depends on what you think is cool."

Lily glanced at the clock on the wall.

"There will be some bands playing in less than an hour, and some of them are said to have quite spectacular performances!"

Alex looked slightly taken aback.

"Some bands…  
I don't think… I shouldn't…  
Aren't we supposed to pick up Tommy and Cassandra from their classes…?  
You two go to the concerts, and I'll…"

Lily interrupted him.

"Morgan is taking Tommy and Cassandra to drawing class, so we won't be needed for at least two hours.  
You could use some time in the sun…"

Her fingers tried to poke his pale face, and she laughed as he slapped her hand away.

"Oh, come on, Alex. We'll stay on the very edge of the park. I just want to hear the music."

Yena added:

"I've never been to a concert before.  
It would be nice to go there with the three of us."

Alex rolled his eyes.

"Fine."


	25. Counterbalanced: 25

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 25**

_'Live Central Plaza!  
Here for three days!  
A great line-up of bands and other performers!_

- _Tynamo Temptations  
_- _Rock and Roll – ah!  
_- _Hounds of Doom  
_- _Night Wishcash  
_- _Mienfoo Fighters  
_- _Meloetta Melodies  
_- _The Backstreet Baltoys_

…And more!

C U C P !'

...

After reading the large, brightly colored poster, Yena looked around.  
Central Plaza was usually quite a peaceful, spacious place.  
But today, there were several stages put up on the grass, surrounded by loud music enthusiasts.  
Because of the plaza's incredible size, a band could be playing at one side of the park, while another was performing at the other end, so there was always something to listen to.

Yena grinned as Lily hooked her arm into hers, pulling her a bit deeper into the crowd.  
She turned her head to smile at Alex, who was following close by, but he didn't notice her, as he was constantly scanning their surroundings with his eyes.  
He didn't look like he was enjoying himself, and his uneasiness reminded Yena of Lily's promise to stay on the edge of the park.  
She tugged the white-haired girl's arm.

"We shouldn't go too far…"

Lily pulled a face.

"It'll be fine. Look…!"

She pointed at a nearby stage, where a band of five men was playing rock music.  
Some yellow-red Fighting type Pokémon were doing a mock fight on the front of the stage, so elegant that it looked like they were dancing.

"They're the _Mienfoo Fighters_…! I love their music. Let's go there!"

Jumping on the beat, she took Yena's hand, pulling her into a wild dance.  
Yena couldn't resist Lily's high energy level for long, and was soon laughing and moving along.

...

Something was happening on the large stage to their left.

"Ooooh…!"

The crowd cheered and pointed at the special Pokémon in front of the band.

Yena had never seen one like that before, and judging by the response from the people around her, it was not seen often.  
The dog-like Pokémon lifted its head, its curled horns almost touching its neck, and howled to the sky.  
A shudder of excitement went through the people in front of the stage. And when the band reached the next part of the song, the Pokémon produced a spectacular rain of fire, as it blasted a Flamethrower up into the air.

The crowd went wild, applauding to the band, and asking for more.

Without taking her eyes off the magnificent Pokémon, Yena tilted her head a bit to ask Alex:

"What kind of Pokémon is that…?"

When he didn't reply, she quickly got out her Pokédex.  
The little machine immediately told her:

_"Houndoom, the Dark Pokémon.  
Long ago, people imagined its eerie howls to be the call of the grim reaper."_

Lily had leaned in to hear the information as well.  
Now she pointed at the picture on the Pokédex' screen, then to the Pokémon on the stage.

"It sure looks like a Houndoom, but this one has a blue coat!"

It was true.  
The Houndoom on the Pokédex' picture clearly had short, black fur, and the Houndoom that was now running back and forth on the stage was showing off a splendid, blue coat.  
Its underbelly and snout were lighter than any regular Houndoom.

A woman standing nearby overheard their conversation, and told them:

"It's incredibly rare for a Pokémon to have a different coloration.  
Sparkles appear around them if they're summoned from their Pokéballs, so they're referred to as 'shiny'…  
Isn't she gorgeous? That Houndoom is the main reason I visit these concerts…"

She turned away from them again, to enjoy the rest of the performance.  
Yena was impressed, and because she wanted to know a bit more about the mysterious 'shiny' Pokémon, she didn't object as Lily pulled her towards the stage to take a closer look.

"Hey…!"

Someone on the side of the stage had yelled.

_"Right there!"_

Yena looked around, and spotted a large, muscular man in black clothes staring in her direction.  
As she watched him, two other men joined him.

"She's standing right there! …Don't stand around! _Get her!_"

Then they dashed forward, right through the surprised crowd.

It was so unexpected, and made so little sense to her, that it took a moment before Yena realised they were actually heading straight for her.  
She took one step back.  
Then a hand from behind grabbed her wrist, and she was pulled away from the stage.  
Alex had acted alert and fast, he'd been watching the crowd from the start.  
Yena had no choice but to sprint as he dragged her into a zigzag, to avoid crashing into unsuspecting people.  
Behind them, surprised cries could be heard as the three men made no such effort.

Trusting Alex to lead her, Yena glanced over her shoulder.

"They're getting out their Pokéballs…!"

A long line of swear words escaped Alex as he tried to reach into his bag while running at full speed.

They had almost reached the edge of Central Plaza, and the men seemed determined to catch them before they did.  
Their summoned Pokémon immediately started chasing them. They were all gray Pokémon, with pink, vein-like bands on their bodies.  
But one of them was much larger, with muscular arms.

"I can't run any faster…!"

Yena was panicking as the Pokémon started to catch up to her.  
Her lungs were working overtime to provide her with enough air.

"Why don't we… just ask them… what's going on…? It must be a misunderstanding…!"

Alex ignored her words, and pulled her arm to make a sharp turn around a couple of benches.  
The three Pokémon and their owners simply jumped over the wooden seats.

"I can't… anymore… We won't make it!"

Suddenly, two Pidove dropped out of the sky, attacking the largest Fighting-Pokémon together, slowing them down by flapping their wings in their faces and scratching him with the claws on their feet. The next moment, Lily was running next to them, having taken another route through Central Plaza.

"My Pidove can't hold them back for long. We'll have to hurry."

As soon as they reached the shadows of the concrete buildings, Alex and Lily both sounded the alarm.

_"Guardiaaans…!"_

The response from the roofs was immediate and effective.  
They ran through the alleys, and flashes of light from all sides announced the help of dozens of Pokémon.  
Finally, Alex had managed to get out his own Pokéball from his bag.

As he pointed it at the street behind him, he shouted:

"Zigzagoon! Distract!"

His Pokémon knew what to do.  
He started digging the same moment his paws touched the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.  
So when the three men in black clothes turned another corner, they were faced by an unknown amount of angry, growling Pokémon, slowly appearing from a cloud of dust. The three hesitated. But after Chase's Sawk dashed through the group, its fist stopping just inches from the largest one's face, they were truly intimidated and turned around, running back to the park.

...

Alex didn't stop running until they reached their appartment, slamming the door shut behind them.  
Panting very heavily, he finally let go of Yena's wrist, and leaned against one of the walls, desperately trying to catch his breath.

Yena didn't feel any better. She sank down on the couch, leaning back, trying not to feel the side stitches.  
Lily, only slightly out of breath, was clearly the fittest of the three.

After a moment, she opened the window to let her two Pidove in, that cooed happily as they were reunited with their owner.  
She whispered nice words to them as her hand went over their smooth feathers.

The appartment went quiet.  
Both Alex and Yena had their breathing back under control, and were occupied by their own thoughts.  
After a while, Zigzagoon came back too, scratching the door until Alex let him in.

Confused by what had happened, Yena started:

"Why…? Those guys… why were they after me…?"

Lily walked to the kitchen to fetch some Pokémon food for her Pidoves.  
The pigeon-like Pokémon followed her like a shadow.

"Did you do anything to… you know… piss anyone off?"

"I can't think of… Wait…"

A thought went through her head.

"Maybe they were friends of… that man from Route 2…  
You know, Alex…? The owner of that enclosure, where you caught Tauros…?  
He could've told them about me, breaking into his home?"

Alex was sitting on the ground, his back against the wall.  
His dark eyes had a strange look in them, and were piercing into hers.

His voice sounded both hoarse and harsh as he got up, stating with a loud voice:

"I think you should leave."

Yena blinked.

"…What?"

He opened the appartment's door.

"You heard me. Go home."


	26. Counterbalanced: 26

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 26**

"I can't believe you let him send you away so easily!"

Lily stomped the ground as she followed Yena through an alley.

"You two travelled together, right? And he's not the boss of you…  
…But you just leave, whenever he tells you to?"

Yena shrugged, looking left and right as she reached a new street.  
Lily pointed left.

"That way, if you want to go back to the wharf."

The white-haired girl paused for a moment.

"Are you really going back home, Yena…?"

Yena threw her a determined glance.

"Of course not. I'm going to get to the bottom of this.  
Something's going on in Castelia City, and I want to know more."

A grin appeared on Lily's face.

"Ah, I'm so glad to hear that…!"

She hooked her arm into Yena's again.

"And I can help you!  
I'm good at sneaking around, finding out about things, doing all kinds of detective things..."

But Yena shook her off.

"That's very nice of you, Lily…I don't mean to be rude, but I just need you to go back and watch Alex for me.  
You know, to make sure he's okay. If he asks, just tell him you led me back to the Skyarrow Bridge."

...

The cold autumn wind was blowing hair in her face as she stood on Castelia City's wharf.

Yena shivered.

Standing still in these conditions was cooling her down fast.  
She pulled her jacket closer around her body, and looked around.

She may have fooled Lily into believing she knew exactly what she was doing, but now that she was standing here all by herself...  
Trying to hold on to her determined feeling from before, she turned around to the Pokémon Center.  
First things first. She had no idea what was going to happen next, and her Pokémon could use some energy.

...

_You will embrace or push away.  
You will embrace or push away.  
You will embrace or push away.  
You will…_

With a growl, Alex grabbed the nearest cushion from the couch, and furiously hurled it across the room.  
It almost knocked the old toaster from the counter in the kitchen, and landed on the floor a second later.

Alex whirled around, cursing as he paced the room.

_You will embrace or push away.  
You will embrace or push away.  
You will embrace or push away…_

Those words had been going around and around in his head from the moment Yena had left.  
Without realising, he had probably acted out another part of the predictions.  
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't run away from them.

Feeling cornered, he clenched his fists, wishing he had never heard Ada's words.

He turned around again, looking out of the window as he passed it.

Another swear word left his mouth.  
…What was he hoping to see? Yena?  
Like she'd come back. He wouldn't, if he'd been sent away like that.

But the fact that he was peering outside time and again, told him the bond between him and Yena had grown stronger than he had realised.  
He made himself look away from the window.  
Maybe this was a good thing.

The events in Central Plaza had scared him, and he'd taken a rash decision by sending Yena away.  
But what would've happened if he'd let her stay…?

Lies. Secrets.  
She'd have found out about them eventually, and would've resented him for it.  
He was sure of it.

He should be glad she was gone.  
She was getting too close.

But sending Yena away had only fulfilled part of the prophecy.  
What was next?

Without really wanting to, he repeated all of Ada's words in his mind.

_'You will be meeting him.  
You will embrace or push away.  
You will face truth and lies.  
And in the end, you'll have no choice but to trust._'

If his clash with Quinn earlier was the first line, and sending away Yena was the second one…

_'You will face truth and lies…  
And in the end, you'll have no choice but to trust._'

Both of these things scared him.

A sound at the door pulled him out of his nightmare-ish thoughts, that went round and round like a carousel.  
His head turned as Lily entered the room, studying him as she closed the door behind her.

After a moment of silence, Alex ran out of patience.

"…What?"

Lily shifted uncomfortably.

"Nothing, really."

Alex went back to pacing back and forth through the living room.

"So what happened?"

Lily's reply was monotone.

"I led Yena to the Skyarrow Bridge."

"Hmm."

After a short hesitation, Lily asked:

"Are you alright? Is there anything I can do…?"

He turned around to face her.  
This definitely wasn't Lily talking.  
Lily would be wise enough to leave him be, until his bad mood was over.  
In the time they'd lived in the same appartment, they'd always minded their own business.

"You could pick up Morgan, Tommy and Cassandra from their class."

She nodded obediently, and turned around to open the door again.  
But before she could, he added:

"Oh, just one more thing, Lily…"

She turned her head slightly, listening.

"…Yena didn't really leave, did she?"

...

Yena tried to blend in with the people around her as much as possible.  
She slightly tilted her head, and spotted one of the men she'd been following at the end of the street, turning right.

She'd been waiting for her Pokémon to get back to full health at the Pokémon Center, when she saw them through the window.  
There was a group of five men outside, looking around on the wharf.  
She recognised three of them as the men that had chased her earlier.

_'Follow your instincts, dear.'_

Ada's words came back to her as she stared at the group.  
She felt nervous and excited at the same time. This had to be her one chance to find out more.

Luck had been on her side, because Nurse Joy called her over a moment later, announcing her Pokémon were all good to go again.  
Thanking the friendly woman, she took back her three Pokéballs and hurried outside, just in time to see the men disappear into Castelia Street.

...

People jumped aside as he ran by, intimidated by his expression and loud curses.  
It hadn't taken him a long time to get the truth out of Lily.  
His suggestion to have Ada test her words for truth had been enough.  
Yena was investigating things, and he had quite a clear idea where he'd find her.

He took a sharp turn into another alley. This was the shortest route back to Central Plaza.

...

Yena took a deep breath as she approached the stage.

The _Hounds of Doom_ had given its spectacular performing here, but now the stage was empty.

At the other end of the park, the _Tynamo Temptations_ were doing something with light effects, but she paid no attention to it.  
This part of the park was now more quiet, as most of the fans had moved to the other stage.

Yena had seen the group of men disappear behind this particular stage.

She breathed in through her nose again, pulling herself together.  
With one hand on Oshawott's Pokéball, she peered around the corner of the stage.  
There was a large black tent, clearly set up for the artists to take a break in.  
Two muscular men were in front of the tent, like bodyguards.

As Yena squinted her eyes, she recognised one of them.

Her heart was beating in her throat. Gathering all the courage she had, she called out to him from where she was standing, keeping a relatively safe distance.

_"Hey…!"_

The two men looked at her immediately, and she pointed at the one she remembered.

"You…! You chased me earlier. Why were you after me?"

The man slowly turned his head towards the tent, keeping an eye on her, as if she was a rare Pokémon, that could run away at any moment.  
He called out to someone in the tent.

"Boss…? You may want to come over here…"

The tall man that appeared from the tent was in this thirties.  
Brown hair, really dark eyes.

She took one step back as she realised who she was dealing with.

…This had to be Alex' brother.

She was sure of it, even though this man was considerably taller and more muscular than Alex.  
His brown hair was combed back, and he was well-dressed.

His eyes observed her just as much as she was studying him.  
A grin appeared on his face, and it made her skin crawl.  
She'd sensed a good personality in Alex when she'd met him, a need to form a friendship, despite his objections.  
But she felt quite the opposite in his brother.

He spoke up.

"The blond girl I heard about. And I can see it. You know who I am."

Another step back.

"I know nothing about you."

Her mind raced, trying to remember the snippets of information Alex had decided to share with her.  
They didn't get along. They were completely different people…

"Aren't you a friend…?"

She was thinking so hard, that she almost missed his question.

"I'm friends with a lot of people."

Her memory brought her back another important bit of information.  
Alex had told her this in the Nacrene Museum.  
Two years ago, he had heard his brother would be given custody over him.  
He tried to run away from Castelia City's hospital shortly after that.

"What's your name?"

His voice was a lot smoother than Alex'.

_Don't tell him. Don't tell him. Don't tell him._

She pressed her lips together, determined to keep as much information to herself as possible.  
Alex' brother stepped a bit closer.

"Maybe I should tell you mine first…?"

He bowed shortly.

"My name is Nicholas Kauri. I'm the producer of the _Hounds of Doom_."

Behind him, the magnificent shiny Houndoom from the show appeared from the tent.  
She stared at Yena intently, and growled as she took her place next to Nicholas.

He placed his hand on the Pokémon's head.

"This is my Houndoom. She won't hurt you, but she has a tendency to chase people if they suddenly run away."

The threat was clear. Yena felt blood rush to her face.

Nicholas got to the point.

"You must know who I'm after by now, if you know who I am."

Trying to avoid making any sudden movements, Yena stepped back in slow-motion.  
Houndoom's growl got a little louder.

"He doesn't know I'm here, so he won't come looking for me."

Nicholas laughed quite loudly, causing the men around them to laugh along.  
Even Houndoom produced a mean grin.

"Ha! I don't think you two know eachother as well as you'd think."

He looked around the park.

"This place is too crowded. We will take our business elsewhere."

He widened his eyes, and pointed at something behind Yena.

"What's that…?"

In a reflex, Yena turned her head.  
The moment she realised nothing was there, Nicholas had gotten out a Pokéball.  
The Pokémon he summoned appeared right in front of her.

She gave one scream as she turned her head, and stumbled back.

She was staring right into the Pokémon's eyes.  
The yellow Pokémon had a large nose, a white ruff around its neck, and was holding something…  
Within seconds, her eyes were drawn to the back-and-forth movement of the pendulum.

The last thing she heard was Nicholas, saying:

"We should leave a note in the tent."


	27. Counterbalanced: 27

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 27**

Panting heavily, Alex leaned against the cold wall, cursing his low level of energy.  
He wouldn't even have thought about resting two years ago, but the fire's smoke had damaged his lungs and throat, enough for him to be out of breath after a good run, and it annoyed him to no end.

While he was working hard to regain control over his lungs, his eyes studied the people out on the wharf.  
Then, slowly breathing in through his nose, he re-read the note he was holding.

_'Prime Pier._

- Nicholas.'

The small piece of paper had been cruelly crushed in his hand.

It wasn't even addressed to him, but the light blue ribbon that had been elegantly placed beside it spoke a million words.  
It was Yena's, and she was in serious trouble. He'd resisted the strong urge to smash everything in Nicholas' tent to bits, and had started sprinting towards the wharf immediately after reading the note.

His panicked mind raced for a way to find out exactly what was going on at the Prime Pier.

...

_…_

Yena struggled to wake up.  
…Was she even asleep?

…

A strong gust of cold wind made her skin crawl, but her arms refused to pull her jacket closer.  
In fact, none of her limbs responded to her wishes.

…

After a while, she began to realise she was standing up, not lying down.  
The autumn wind was now constantly present.

…

She blinked, and was surprised to discover that her eyes had been open all this time.  
The things she saw weren't coming through at all.  
Worried, she focused on looking at what was in front of her.

…

The wind was ruthlessly blowing in her eyes.  
She had to repeatedly close her eyes, and open them again.  
She felt like she was surrounded by a thick layer of mist.

…

As in a dream, she heard people talking nearby.  
She couldn't quite understand what they were saying, until one of them raised his voice.

…

"There!"

_…_

More sounds were coming through now.  
Was that… the sound of the ocean?

…

Her lips formed words as she tried to speak, but no sound came out.

…

A familiar voice from the distance.  
Calling out.  
Her conscience slowly floated to the surface.

…

Voices, voices.

…

There was a hand on her arm.

…

Someone was screaming…

…

Wake up. Wake up. Wake u-…

...

The cold wind went right through his sweater, tugging at his trusted black bag hanging over his shoulder.  
But he paid no attention to it, and kept a steady pace as he walked down the Cruise Dock pier.  
He clenched his fists as he stared at the next pier in the distance, to his right.

The Prime Pier.

There was a small group of people standing at the end of it.  
It had been two years since he'd seen Nicholas, but Alex instantly recognised his brother from afar.  
The tall man was looking at Castelia City, until one of his men spotted Alex.

"There!"

The word was carried over the dark water by the wind.

On the next pier, Nicholas immediately turned his head.  
It was too far for Alex to see his expression, but he could hear the grin on his brother's face as Nicholas yelled:

"Look at you…! No wonder we couldn't find you…  
And you took a wrong turn somewhere! Why don't you come over here instead?"

Some strong language from Alex' side told Nicholas exactly how he felt about that plan.  
Nicholas had now fully turned around to face Alex.

"Mind your language! Or have you forgotten why you came here?"

He gestured at someone standing at his right side.

Yena's blond hair was wildly blown around her head as she motionlessly stared in his direction.  
Alex ground his teeth as he spotted Hypno, keeping a close eye on the girl he hypnotised.

"She has nothing to do with this! Wake her up and let her go!"

The wind blowing in his favor, Nicholas' smooth voice easily flew over the wild water.

"She has _everything_ to do with it! Without her, you wouldn't be standing there!  
Now I suggest you get yourself over here… How do you feel about taking the shortest route, distance-wise?"

Alex breathed in fast as Nicholas placed a hand on Yena's arm, gently guiding the hypnotised girl towards the edge of the pier.  
Her face remained motionless as the tall man placed her in front of him, her toes already over the edge.

"Don't…! She'll drown! She… _She can't swim_, Nicholas!"

Nicholas' reply was merciless.

"Better get over here fast, then. Fetch!"

One gentle push was enough to make Yena step over the edge of the pier.  
With a splash, she disappeared into the dark water.

Alex was now screaming at the top of his lungs.

_"Nooo…! Nicholas, you…!"_

But there was no time for shouting obscenities.  
Alex flexed his shoulders, making his bag fall on the ground behind him.

Then he ran up to the edge of the Cruise Dock pier, and dove.

...

The shock of plunging into ice cold water was the last thing Yena needed to fully wake up.  
She gasped as the water closed over her head, but there was no air to breathe in.

Nearly choking on the salty ocean water, she struggled to not let panic take over.  
Broken out of her hypnosis, she discovered she was back in control of her limbs, and started to wildly claw her way back to the surface.

Yena coughed and gasped as she reached the open air.

_Where was she? What happened?_

Her head refused to give her answers, and the ocean gave her no time.  
The wind made strong currents in the ocean water, and she was shocked to find that she had drifted away from Castelia City.  
She couldn't remember falling into the water, or anything leading up to this.

There were people on the pier!  
She tried to call out for help, but a wave overtook her.

She had to swallow a mouthful of ocean water to make way for air as she re-surfaced a couple of seconds later.  
She eagerly gasped in the cold air, before another wave went over her head.  
The breath she had taken was hardly enough, and her lungs were screaming for more.

She waved her arms, instinct made her legs move, and she was rewarded with another chance to breathe.

But the cold water made her movements sluggish, and the lack of air made her dizzy.  
Struggling back to the surface became more difficult every time she did it, and every time a wave smashed down on her, she felt like it might be the last time she'd seen the cloudy sky.

…

…

Then, a hand grabbed her jacket near her shoulder, and pulled her up to the surface.

Yena coughed as her body tried to get rid of the water in her lungs, and she desperately clinged to the person next to her in the water, who had immediately started swimming back to Castelia City after getting a good hold of her.  
After fulfilling her lungs' primary need for air, Yena started to cry in relief as she recognised Alex.

Trying not to pull her friend down, she did her best to swim along.

Alex was a good swimmer, but not powerful. Their progress back to the piers was slow, and Yena could tell he was tiring fast.  
Feeling terrible to have put him into this possibly fatal situation, she made a couple of attempts to speak.

"A-… Alex…"

He tightened his grip on her.  
His reply was weak, and she could tell he was almost completely out of breath.

"Don't… Don't let go. I'll get you back there…"

Despite the fact she was barely able to move her cold hands, she tried to get a better hold of him, placing one hand around his arm, the other on his shoulder.  
She coughed again.

"I'm sorry, Alex… I sh-shouldn't have meddled with y-…"

But another wave towered over them, and both of them needed some time to get back in the rhythm of swimming after getting back to the surface.  
Panting heavily, Alex did the best he could to say:

"My… My bag. It's… still at the other pier… And… If you see a chance… Run for it."

"R-right."

They were now getting closer to the Prime Pier, and Yena could hear sneering remarks being made as Nicholas and his men watched them approach.  
One of them had lowered himself on the small ladder on the side of the pier, ready to grab them.

Seeing Nicholas somehow cleared Yena's mind.  
She was cold, tired, and had lost all sense of direction. But in the last couple of minutes before they reached the pier, clinging to her mysterious friend, Yena remembered the last things she and Nicholas had said to eachother, on Central Plaza.

_"He doesn't know I'm here, so he won't come looking for me."_

"Ha! I don't think you two know eachother as well as you'd think."

Thinking of that moment triggered something in the back of her mind, as if a hundred puzzle pieces suddenly started to form a picture.  
Scenes from her time with Alex flashed by in her head, and led her to one conclusion…

He was clearly keeping something personal to himself.  
What's the type of secret he could keep by constantly pushing people away like he had done?

…

His smooth way of climbing trees and fences.

…

Professor Juniper's words to Alex:

"What have you done to yourself, walking around like that?"

And later:

"You can't keep hiding like this forever, you hear me?"

…

Tauros examining Alex before deciding to go with him, and his contant protective behavior since then.

…

Alex fiery arguments, as he convinced her to free the Pokémon from the enclosure:

"Why don't _you_ try and live on the wild side of life for once?  
And don't you _dare_ to say it's not for girls, because that's the lamest excuse ever."

…

Nurse Joy's surprised look in Striaton City as Yena informed how Alex had been doing.  
She had changed something on the night nurse's form, as if a mistake had been made.

…

Talking to Alex after the nurse had changed his clothes.  
He had looked like he expected her to say something more…

…

Quinn warning her about Alex in the gym:

"There's something about him that's just… off."

…

Alex' words as he panicked before going to Castelia City:

"They've always thought so anyway, made the same mistake…"

…

Him being unwell for five days, and pressing his hand on his stomach.

…

Alex not doing well in all-male units, before finally settling down in a mixed one.

…

The Gray Guardian's dance teacher, saying:

"Have you seen him move in Chase's classes? That boy has a natural grace..."

…

One of Nicholas' men, yelling:

"She's standing right there! …Don't stand around! _Get her!_"

They had pointed in Yena's general direction, but…

…

_"He doesn't know I'm here, so he won't come looking for me."_

"Ha! I don't think you two know eachother as well as you'd think."

…

As Yena came back to that last moment, Alex' secret dawned on her.  
After the smoke damaged his windpipe two years ago, his voice had lowered, sounding hoarse and raw.  
With a nasty attitude, people wouldn't want to look into you too much.

…The circumstances were perfect for someone wanting to hide.

As the last minute before they reached the Prime Pier counted down, she pulled Alex closer.

"Alex…"

He must've sensed it was something important, because he turned his head to look at her.  
His facial features were more refined than Nicholas'.

She knew his answer before she had even asked.

"Alex… You're a girl, aren't you?"


	28. Counterbalanced: 28

**Counterbalanced – Chapter 28**

Yena immediately sank down on the ground as she was pulled onto the pier, trembling and shivering.  
One of Nicholas' men stood by her side, probably making sure she wasn't running away.  
But she was feeling so miserable, that even standing up seemed like an impossible task.

Violent swearing announced Alex being hoisted from the water, up to the Prime Pier.  
Kicking and screaming with a short burst of renewed energy, she managed to punch one man in the stomach, and break another one's nose, before finally collapsing to the ground, where she was immediately overpowered and pushed on her knees. Panting heavily, and now fully drained from her energy, Alex glowered at her older brother as he came closer.

Nicholas shook his head.

"Such a wild thing, as always."

He glared at two of his men.  
One of them was still rubbing his stomach, the other one clutching his bloody nose.

"Congratulations, gentlemen. You've been beaten up by my little sister.  
You must be so proud of yourselves."

Nicholas then seemed to remember Yena, who was still shaking.  
He looked happy to have an audience, because when she looked up, he theatrically waved his arm at Alex.

"Behold, the person who has so horribly deceived you."

More to Alex than to Nicholas, Yena said with a shaking, but determined voice:

"I... I don't feel s-so... deceived."

Nicholas grinned.

"Are you sure? I can't wait to see what you think after hearing the _whole_ story.  
It is my pleasure to _properly_ introduce you..."

He glanced at Alex.

"...to Elizabeth Kauri."

He laughed as Alex flinched, and growled:

_"Don't call me that!"_

"Ha! That's right... You always preferred to be called Liz, instead. So common."

Trembling from both the cold and anger, Alex hissed:

"That's not my name anymore."

Nicholas bent down fast, his face now only inches away from Alex'.

"Oh yeah? Then what have you been calling yourself?"

When Alex just stared at him, her lips pressed together, some frustration crept into Nicholas voice.  
He waved his arm to Castelia City behind him.

"Do you have _any_ idea how much time and effort I put into looking for you?  
I search the whole of Unova, and you turn out to be hiding _here_ all along!"

He roughly pushed Alex' shoulder, then shook her.

"And you just kept running from me! Because of _your_ noncompliance, you put your friend here in danger!  
It's _your_ fault she nearly drowned!"

Powerless, Alex looked away from her brother.  
Yena, on the other hand, responded immediately:

"That's not true! It's y-..."

Nicholas interrupted her by laughed again, but this time, it sounded more like a mad cackle.

"True? _True...?_ I don't know you can recognise truth when it stares you in the face!  
You put your trust in the wrong person, young lady!  
Whatever you think of me, I'm not like Elizabeth. I'm not a _murderer_."

A moment of silence.

Yena looked like she'd been slapped in the face.

"...murderer?"

Nicholas grabbed a handful of Alex' hair, forcing her to look up by pulling her head back.

"Why don't you try telling the truth for once, Liz?  
On the day of the fire, what was it that you did in the forest...? _Tell her!_"

Alex was breathing fast, her eyes going back and forth between her brother and Yena.

"I was... sending smoke signals with-..."

"Ha! _Smoke signals!_ You played with fire...!  
And _somehow_ you end up in the middle of the fire that killed our parents!  
You took a burning branch home with you that day, didn't you?"

He slightly shook her.

_"Well...?"_

Tears had started running down Alex' face.

"I... I can't remember!"

He pushed her again.

"You think the house set itself on fire...? _Try a bit harder!_"

Now sobbing, Alex cried out:

_"I don't know! I can't remember anything!"_

Nicholas straightened his back, and looked down on his sister.

"You can cry and play innocent all you want.  
All the evidence is pointing at you, and I'm sure any judge will agree... It's obvious!  
Being the wild child that you are, you did an irresponsible thing, and now you'll have to face the consequences."

His glare was merciless.

"Because of _you_, our parents are _dead_."

A sudden cry of pain behind him made Nicholas look around.  
Yena had chosen this moment to jump up, elbowing her surprised guard in the face before dashing towards Castelia City, sometimes stumbling as she ran.

Nicholas' Houndoom barked ferociously, and prepared chase the girl, but Alex called out to her brother:

"..._Let her go! _Please, Nicholas! You don't need her anymore, right...?"

Yena was approaching Castelia City's wharf now.  
As Houndoom jumped after her, Alex was quick to add:

"_Think_, Nicholas! What would people think if she was attacked by a shiny Houndoom right in front of the Pokémon Center, in plain sight...?  
You're the only one with a Pokémon like that..."

Nicholas considered her words for a moment, then called out to his Pokémon.

"Houndoom, come back here! We'll find the girl back later. She's tired, and won't get very far."

He turned around to Alex again.

"As for you, I don't want to take any chances..."

He gestured at Hypno, who had been patiently waiting its turn.  
As the Psychic Pokémon approached, Alex tightly closed her eyes, and turned her head away, determined not to get hypnotised.  
She heard Nicholas growl.

"You worthless, little... Would you cooperate for _once_...?"

Alex gasped as she was slapped across the face.  
The one, shocked second she opened her eyes was enough for Hypno.  
As she was drawn in by the back-and-forth motion of the pendulum, she felt her muscles relax.  
Her shoulders lowered, and the man that had been holding her down stepped back.  
Nicholas' voice sounded somewhere in the back of her mind, but she no longer really registered what was going on around her.

"Alright then, that's a good girl. Stand up for me."

Her knees almost gave in as she got to her feet.

Nicholas grinned.

"Heh. She's completely drained. She won't be going anywhere soon, even if she breaks out of the hypnosis."

...

...

_No one noticed the lone figure on the Cruise Dock pier, that picked up Alex' bag._

...

Nicholas scraped his throat once, then told Alex:

"Pay attention, Elizabeth. What I'm about to tell you is very important.  
…When you wake up, you'll start to realise that you _did_ take a burning branch from your fire in the forest.  
You thought it'd be a good idea to show mom and dad your smoke signals, but accidentally dropped the thing in the living room.  
You got scared, ran from the fire, and managed to get away. So in the end, it's your fault they're dead."

Alex breathed in deep, and shivered as the wind blew right through her wet clothes.  
She stared at her brother without really seeing him.

One of Nicholas' men spoke up.

"But boss... what if she told people about what happened here on the piers...?"

Nicholas was quick to answer his question.

"Of course that'd made me look bad. But she won't tell them, because she won't remember a thing."

He turned to Alex again.

"Listen up, Elizabeth. You will not remember getting hypnotised. Furthermore, yo-..."

But Nicholas' instructions were suddenly interrupted.

With the wind blowing around them, they never heard the sound of hooves.  
It was almost too late when the man standing closest to Nicholas saw Tauros, but he managed to shove his boss aside before being trampled by the furious Pokémon.

Without holding back, Tauros ran right past Alex, tackling both men and other Pokémon.  
Houndoom yelped as she flew through the air, helplessly thrown into the water, and was soon followed by Hypno as the bull wildly waved its head.  
The yellow Pokémon was instantly knocked out by the blow, and disappeared into the waves.

...

...

Alex blinked as her mind broke free from the hypnosis.

"...What?"

Her voice was barely audible.

Disoriented, she slowly turned her head towards the ruckus behind her.  
There were wounded men scattered across the Prime Pier.  
Tauros was standing near the edge of the pier, its horns only inches away from Nicholas' chest.  
The brown Pokémon sniffed angrily, scraping one of its hooves along the ground, in preperation of pushing the man in front of him into the water.

Alex felt dizzy, and her memory was foggy.  
She could hardly remember the things that had happened from the moment she was lifted out of the water, and she couldn't recall standing up, or Tauros appearing on the scene.

"...Tauros?"

The bull instantly turned his head towards her, almost knocking Nicholas into the water in the process.  
Leaving Nicholas to stand on the edge of the pier, Tauros stepped over the injured men and gently nudged his owner's arm.

Completely numb from the cold, Alex felt like she could cry of relief as Tauros let her lean against his warm body.  
Moving slow, she put one arm on his back, desperately trying to get her cold hand to claw into Tauros' manes.  
Her clothes and hair were still dripping from her ordeal in the ocean, and the cold was making it difficult to move at all.

"_Elizabeth...!"_

Nicholas had called out to her. She turned her head.

"Don't come any closer, Nicholas. Tauros will attack you, if you do."

Her brother's eyes were wide.

"He's your Pokémon...?"

Alex ignored his question, and made another attempt to climb onto her Pokémon's back.  
Nicholas ground his teeth.

"Don't you _dare_ running away again, you..."

But he didn't have the courage to finish his sentence, as he was interrupted by an angry sniff from Tauros.

Nicholas' desperate words gave Alex' arms a tiny bit of energy.  
She managed to pull herself up, just enough to lie down on Tauros' back.  
As she clinged onto her Pokémon, Tauros started running for Castelia City, leaving her brother standing among his injured men.

As her Pokémon went into a gallop, Alex held on for dear life – her hands in his manes, her legs tightly around his body.  
Keeping this up required all she had, so she never registered where Tauros ran to, nor the people he nearly ran over in the process.

...

Quinn frowned as he looked down the Gym Street.  
Two minutes ago, he had almost been knocked over by Tauros, with Alex on his back.

The duo had caused people in the street to jump aside, before disappearing into an alley on the left side of the street.  
He'd usually just feel irritated by Alex' ways, but he now strongly felt something was wrong – Alex' hair and clothes had been soaked, and he had not looked like the ridiculously alert young man that broke his nose more than a week ago. In fact, he hadn't even glanced aside as they galloped past.

As Quinn turned his head back to the wharf, another surprise awaited him.  
There was a group of men running in his direction, some of them limping as they tried to keep up with the others.

The tall man in front, who seemed to be in charge of the group, sometimes stopped to question people present on the wharf.  
They soon approached Quinn, who was curiously studying them.  
The leader was panting slightly, but his dark eyes were constantly scanning the area.

"Young man, you should be able to help us out here.  
According to what other people said, a girl went into this street a couple of minutes ago, riding a large brown Pokémon."

Quinn's jaw dropped slightly.

"A girl...?"

"Yes, a girl! You must've seen her...! It's important we find her, she's... wanted for murder!"

Quinn's eyes went wide.

_"Murder...?"_

The tall man nodded impatiently.

"Yes, yes! Now did you see her, or not?"

Quinn took one step back, and looked into Gym Street again.  
After a short hesitation, he said:

"I saw her..."

The group of men immediately gathered behind him as he pointed down the street.

"See the building next to the gym...?  
There's an alley immediately past there, on the right, and that's where they disappeared into..."

He pointed right to enforce his words, and that's all the group needed.  
Without even thanking him, they started running down Gym Street.

Quinn waited until they were gone, his thoughts all over the place.  
He'd just sent those men in the wrong direction.  
What if Alex was really a criminal...?

Then he started walking for the alley on the left side of the street, mumbling to himself:

"I must be crazy for doing this..."

...

She couldn't hold on anymore.

This was the third time she had almost slipped from Tauros' back, and every single muscle in her body was screaming as she tried to climb back up.  
Falling off while the Pokémon was still running would cause more damage than she could handle.

"T-Tauros... _Stop..._"

Her words were weak, but the Pokémon heard her.  
He slowly came to a halt.

They were standing in the middle of a narrow street.  
Alex let go of Tauros' manes, and landed on the ground quite ungracefully.  
She lay down there for a moment, her eyes closed, cold and wet to the bone. But she was stirred back into moving when Tauros dropped something from his mouth, before his warm tongue started licking her face and hands. She slowly sat up.

There was a Pokéball on the ground, covered in saliva.  
Tauros had been carrying it in his mouth all along.

Some of the things happening on the pier came back to Alex.

"Yena sent you..."

Tauros mooed softly, and bowed his head, before licking his owner's face again.

Her thinking clouded by the constant cold, Alex reached for the Pokéball, and held it out to Tauros.

"I s-should go and hide somewhere... But y-you stand out, so..."

Tauros now mooed loudly, protesting as red light from the Pokéball enveloped him, returning him to his Pokéball. Shakily, Alex got to her feet.  
Calling her Pokémon back had been a case of poor judgment, but as she started to seriously be affected by hypothermia, she did not realise it. Without Tauros, there was nothing shielding her from the wind, and she cooled back down immediately.

Now shivering uncontrollably, she managed to stumble into another small alley.  
She had no idea where she was.

As she took another step forwards, she stumbled and collapsed to the ground.  
That's where she lay, barely conscious, Tauros' Pokéball clenched in her hand.

...Until he found her.

He observed her for a moment.  
He then put one arm around her shoulders, the other under her knees.  
Lifting her into his arms without difficulty, he turned around and started making his way through the streets.

...

...  
_  
'You will face truth and lies.  
And in the end, you'll have no choice but to trust._'

...

...

Nestled against Quinn's warm body, Alex sighed once, before finally sinking away into unconsciousness.


End file.
